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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



CATHOLIC DOCTRINE 



O K- 



JUSTIFICATION 



EXPLAINED AND VINDICATED 



B Y 



THE RIGHT REV. FRANCIS PATRICK KENRICK, 

Bishop ofMrath, and Coadjutor of the Bishop of Philadelphia. 



"Him that knew no sin, for us he hath made sin, that we might be made the 
justice of God in him."— 2. Cor. v. 21. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

EUGENE CUMMISKEY, 

No. 130 South Sixth Street 



~v. 



rc<\ 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by 

EUGENE CUMMISKEY, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania. 



S~9 °i 



Philadelphia : 

Printed by King & Baird, 

No. 9 George Street. 






<£ CONTENTS 



PAGE, 



Chapter I. 
Origin of Luther's doctrine, - - - 13 

Chapter II. 
Protestant tenets, 18 

Chapter III. 
Nature of faith, 23 

Chapter IV. 
Faith only, 41 

Chapter V. 
Necessity of faith, 51 

Chapter VI. 
Gratuitous character of justification, - 60 

Chapter VII. 
Meaning of term justification, - 73 

Chapter VIII. 
Inherent justice, 85 

Chapter IX. 
Imputed justice, 97 

Chapter X. 
Certainty of justification, - - - 111 



IV CONTENTS. 

PAGE, 

Chapter XI. 
Baptism Instrumental cause of justification, 123 

Chapter XII. 
Sacraments in general, - 142 

Chapter XIII. 
Plenary justification, - - - - 161 

Chapter XIV. 
Increase of justice, 173 

Chapter XV. 
Mortal and venial sin, - 182 

Chapter XVI. 
Indulgences, 191 

Chapter XVII. 
Purgatory, 201 

Chapter XVIII. 
Possibility of observing the Law, - - 214 

Chapter XIX. 
Good works, 222 

Chapter XX. 
Necessity of Good Works, - - - 231 

Chapter XXI. 
Works of supererogation, - - - - 238 

Chapter XXII. 
Merit of Good Works, - - 246 

Conclusion, 255 



PREFACE. 

The following work owes its origin to the sugges- 
tion of a friend. In conversing familiariy on the very 
remarkable return of some prominent Oxford divines 
to Catholic truth on points hitherto most violently 
controverted, it was observed that the great principle 
of justification by faith only, which Luther justly 
regarded as the source and essence of his whole sys- 
tem, was openly abandoned, and the Catholic doctrine, 
as expounded by the Council of Trent, admitted, with 
only some verbal distinctions and modifications, serv- 
ing rather to veil the concession, than to qualify it. In 
these circumstances it was suggested that a candid 
and clear statement of Catholic faith on this important 
subject might be beneficial to many, whom the Ox- 
ford concessions had prepared for a more impartial 
examination of the question. The work of the Pro- 
testant Episcopal Bishop of Ohio subsequently came 
into the author's hands ; on reading which he was 
startled by its exaggerated tone, and surprised at 
some mis-statements of principles and misquotations 
of authorities, into which this prelate had been be- 
trayed. Had the works of St. Thomas of Aquin, or 
the decrees of the Council of Trent been in the hands 
of Bishop jyPIlvaine, when he wrote his treatise, he 
could not have mistaken their meaning, and would 

1 



6 PREFACE. 

not have misquoted them, as I shall show that he has 
done in some instances. To the same cause I feel 
bound to ascribe his mis-statements of Catholic doc- 
trine. The vehemence of his language, and his un- 
mitigated denunciations of our faith may be account- 
ed for by the pain naturally felt at seeing his Oxford 
brethren give us so undisputed a triumph over the 
Reformers in the vital principle of their revolt, which 
they brand with anathema as a new gospel, contrary 
to the everlasting Gospel of Jesus. "We are bound, 
therefore," says Bishop M'llvaine, "with regard to 
their divinity, as they feel bound with regard to ours 
by that Apostolic charge : ' Though an angel from 
heaven preach unto you any other gospel than that 
ye have received, let him be anathema.' '** 

As if all were peace within, the Protestant Episco- 
pal Bishop of New Jersey not long since called on a 
Presbyterian minister to retract his assertion in re- 
gard to the Catholic tendencies of the Oxford School. 
No one, not acquainted with the fact, could have 
suspected that his colleague in the West had already 
made and substantiated the charge in an elaborate 
treatise, and hurled anathema against the old Gospel. 
Bishop M'llvaine has, however, left the substance of 
the controversy almost untouched, and instead of 
answering the luminous arguments and authorities, 
both Scriptural and traditional, urged in the learned 
treatises of Dr. Pusey and Mr. Newman, has limited 
himself to show that such were not the sentiments 
of the early Divines of the English Establishment 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 104. 



PREFACE. 7 

The Virginia Protestant Episcopal Convention has 
since branded the Oxford Divinity as heresy ; whilst 
it receives marked favor from the Protestant Episco- 
pal Bishops of Maryland and New Jersey, and others 
of their colleagues. 

So grave is the controversy, that a respectable lay 
member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Mr. 
Vanbrugh Livingston, has thought it his duty, in a 
work which displays great zeal with great temper, to 
warn the public against the errors of Bishop M'll- 
vaine : " The weight," he observes, " and authority 
of Bishop M'llvaine's office render it still more ne- 
cessary to caution the public against the errors of his 
theological system. We hold that it is the duty of 
laymen professing a membership with the same 
church, not to give way, < no, not for an hour/ to one 
who 'seemeth to be somewhat, even a pillar in the 
church/ whenever they conscientiously believe that 
a fundamental truth of their most holy and most 
Christian faith, is involved in the subject at issue."* 
With this internal and domestic controversy it is far 
from my wish to interfere : but as Bishop M'llvaine 
has taken occasion from it to assail and misrepresent 
our tenets, it is equally my privilege and duty to ex- 
hibit to the public a candid and correct statement and 
defence of them. It matters not to us whether the 
teaching of the Oxford divines be conformable to the 
Articles of the Church of England, or to the senti- 
ments of the leading divines of the English Estabiish- 

* Remarks on Oxford Theology, by Vanbrugh Livingston. New 
York, 1841. p. 81. 



8 PREFACE. 

ment. We judge not of revealed truth by such 
standards. The definitions of faith emanating from 
the Assembly of Christian bishops, and confirmed by 
the successor of Peter, who is divinely privileged to 
confirm his brethren, are for us authentic declarations 
of what God has revealed. This work, then, is not 
designed as a vindication of the Oxford divines 
against the charges of Bishop M'llvaine : nor was 
it originally intended in any respect as a reply to his 
work, although the subsequent perusal of this pro- 
duction suggested so many modifications and refer- 
ences as may appear to give it that character. 

I hoped against hope that the days of controversy 
were drawing to a close, when I perceived the extra- 
ordinary movement at Oxford, and the very signifi- 
cant insinuations of the famous Tract No. 90. "Re- 
ligious changes, to be beneficial, should be the act 
of the whole body ; they are worth little if they are 
the mere act of a majority." .... " Our Church's 
strength would be irresistible, humanly speaking, 
were it but at unity with itself: if it remains divided, 
part against part, we shall see the energy which was 
meant o subdue the world preying upon itself, 
according to our Saviour's express assurance, that 
such a house < cannot stand.'* I discovered in the 
writings of these divines, and of several of the 
divines of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this 
country, a yearning after Catholic unity, and a weari- 
someness of the endless divisions, which, under the 
name of Religion, disfigure and disgrace Christianity. 

* Tract No. 90. Introduction. 



PREFACE 



The Essay of Bishop Smith on Christian Union, and 
the Appeal of Bishop Hopkins to our Hierarchy, 
were not among the most serious symptoms of that 
disposition ; but a leading periodical of their Com- 
munion proclaimed it in no measured terms : the 
name of Protestant was studiously set aside, and 
every effort used to familiarize themselves and others 
with the appellation of Catholic : the ancient faith 
on many points was defended covertly or openly : 
and their writers were seen closely pressing on the 
traces of those of Oxford. Thinking that there was 
reality in all these demonstrations, and that the day 
of mercy was at hand, when feuds and errors might 
be forgotten, in the embrace of Catholic Unity, I 
ventured respectfully to urge the Episcopal prelates 
to realize what seemed to be a favourite object with 
some of their number. But I regret to have met 
with no corresponding feeling. Yet will I not despair. 
If by amicable conference nothing is to be hoped for, 
the candid exposition of Catholic truth, as acknow- 
ledged by eminent divines of the Anglican Commu- 
nion, may prepare the way for reconciliation. Many 
will awaken as from a lethargy, when they hear Mr. 
Newman proclaim the leading principle of the Refor- 
mation to be a manifest absurdity: "It would seem," 
he says, "that Luther's doctrine, now so popular, 
that justifying faith is trust, comes first, justifies by 
itself, and then gives birth to all graces, is not tena- 
ble : such a faith cannot be, and if it could, would 
not justify."* . 

* Lectures, p. 239. 



10 PREFACE. 

Of the Oxford divines I shall only say, that the 
homage which on this and many other points they 
have rendered to Catholic truth, makes it the more 
to be regretted that they have not given their un- 
qualified assent to all the doctrines of faith, and lent 
their whole influence to the sacred cause of Catholic 
unity. Whether the strictures in which they occa- 
sionally indulge be the remains of former prejudices, 
or offerings made to the prejudices of their country- 
men, it is evident that their obvious tendency is to 
destroy what the writers otherwise build up of the 
fabric of primitive Religion, and to afford pretexts 
for delaying the consummation of that union which 
every sincere friend to Christianity must desire. 
They have, indeed, awakened public attention to 
primitive faith and practice, and prepared the way 
for a general return to it : but if after having advanced 
to the portal of the temple, they hesitate to enter and 
adore in humility of faith, they deprive themselves 
of those blessings, which others may have been led 
by their teaching to embrace. 

It is painful to perceive that those who in this 
country have re-echoed the Oxford principles seem to 
indulge in increased virulence against that venerable 
authority, which Mr. Newman, in his celebrated 
Tract No. 90, proclaims " the head of the Catholic 
world," and in which he recognizes a primacjrof 
Order. The most unmeasured abuse of the Roman 
Pontiff appears to them necessary to repel the charge 
advanced by their brethren, of the Roman tendency 
of their principles. They seem to forget what the 



PREFACE. 11 

Tractarians declare they can never forget, that Rome 
was their mother, and that she reclaimed their ances- 
tors from heathenism. How far they may succeed 
in satisfying their colleagues, it is unimportant to 
consider: but if they seriously seek Catholic unity, 
they should be sensible that the first step to it is the 
admission of " the centre of unity," which, in a quali- 
fied sense, Mr. Newman acknowledges the Roman 
Pontiff to be. Every plan of union among Protes- 
tants is a dream of fancy, as Mr. Hallam after Gro- 
tius admits, unless the authority of the Bishop of 
Rome be admitted. It is not then by gross invectives 
against the first Bishop of the Christian Church they 
can promote the cause of Christian truth, or charity, 
or prove their own claims to the confidence and re- 
spect of a Christian community. 



Philadelphia. 

Feast of St. Bernard, 1841. 



CHAPTER I 



origin of luther's doctrine, 



The promulgation of the indulgences which Leo X. 
offered to such as contributed to the building of the mag- 
nificent church of St. Peter, gave occasion to the revolt of 
Luther. Staupitz, the Vicar General of the Order o 
hermits of St. Augustin, felt aggrieved at the preference 
given by the Archbishop of Mayence to Tetzel, and his 
Dominican brethren, who were commissioned to announce 
the indulgences, and collect the contributions of the faith- 
ful ; and he, accordingly, charged Luther, a member of 
his order, and professor of divinity in the University of 
Wittenberg, wherein Staupitz was first Dean of the Theo- 
logical faculty, to denounce publicly the extravagant asser- 
tions, and enormous abuses ascribed to the Dominican 
questers. Whether it was that Luther was already infected 
with the errors of John Huss, which in the preceding century 
had many partisans in Germany, and that he seized this 
occasion to give them publicity, or that the germs of error 
were lodged in his mind, which the heat of dispute 
matured into avowed heresies, or that, contrary to his 
previous settled convictions, he hazarded assertions to 

2 



14 origin of luther's doctrine. 

annoy his adversaries, and afterwards sustained them with 
proud consistency ; certain it is that he did not come forth 
from the seclusion of the cloister, uncalled and unpro- 
voked, to give to the world the results of his meditations, 
in the calm language of philosophy, or with the enthusiasm 
of an apostle, to whom heaven had revealed its secrets. 
He did not at once appear as one who was divinely in- 
structed to reform a corrupted world, and who was prepared 
to exhibit in its full connexion the whole counsel of God. 
He rose at the bidding of his Religious Superior to vindi- 
cate the honor of the order to which he belonged, and 
which appeared to have been slighted by the preference 
given to a different institute : and though in his first address 
he startled his brethren by the boldness of his assertions, 
he said nothing that might not be ascribed to an excited 
state .of mind, and might not be considered as directed 
against opinions of schoolmen, rather than the doctrines of 
the Church. The Dominicans were accused by him of 
exaggerating the advantages of Indulgences, and thus set- 
ting aside the more necessary Christian virtues ; they were 
arraigned as guilty of employing low stratagems to entice 
contributors, and were said to disgrace the ministry and 
the Church .by various unworthy practices. It is not 
easy, at this distance of time, to determine what foundation 
there was for such serious charges against so illustrious an 
order ; but were we to judge from the printed instructions 
of Tetzel, we must regard them as groundless.* It is, 
however, certain that Luther as yet cried anathema to any 
one who who should call in question the power of In- 
dulgences,! although he threw out many rash propositions 

* Instructions — Btichlein iur die Prediger zur Anpreisung des 
Ablasses. 
f Prop. 71, an. 1517. T\ I. Viterb, 



ORIGIN OF LUTHEPv's DOCTRINE. 15 

in regard to them, which he subsequently moulded into 
formal heresies.* An indulgence is an act of ecclesiastical 
authority, by which penitents are exempted from the 
canonical penances assigned to certain sins. It supposes 
the necessity of penitential humiliations and austerities for 
the expiation of sin, even after its guilt has been remitted 
in the Sacrament of Penance. Luther questioned this 
necessity. God, he said, forgives fully and unreservedly ; 
the Saviour has atoned for all our sins, and the sinner is 
justified, that is, discharged from all sin, the moment he 
believes that his sins are forgiven him in Christ. Justifi- 
cation became from this time the primary doctrine of the 
reformer; and justifying faith was defined by him to be 
the firm belief of the individual that the righteousness of 
Christ is imputed to him, to the total remission of his sins ; 
and was declared to be as certain as his belief in the in- 
carnation of Christ.t Yet he denied that justice was 
actually communicated to the sinner, who, he said, is 
accounted just, in regard to Christ, but is not made just in 
reality by any divine gift. He exaggerated the power of 
faith, and said that it alone justifies, independently of all 
other virtues, which, nevertheless, he sometimes repre- 
sented as its necessary results ; and independently of all 
works, which, he alleged, foster pride and self confidence, 

* Sartorius, a protestant writer, acknowledges that Luther stumbled 
on many unforeseen obstacles in his headlong career, and that no in- 
dication is seen of the execution of a grand conception of a vast 
genius : " Luther ne connaissait pas la route qu' il avait a parcourir. 
Aussi alla-t-il souvent se heurter contredes obstacles imprevus. II n' 
avait aucune idee d'un ces plans concus avec un esprit vaste, et exe- 
cutes ensuite avec vigueur." Histoire de la guerre des paysans, p. 42. 

f Luth. T. 1. Vit. Prop. 1518. f. 52. Serin, de Indulg. f. 61. Act. 
apud Legat. Apost. f. 211. Luth ad Frider. f. 222. 



16 origin of luther's doctrine. 

to the detriment of faith. " We need not works to please 
God, but naked faith, for we should come with Isaac alone, 
that is, in faith : we must leave behind us the servants and 
asses, namely, works. The more wicked you are, the 
more readily God infuses his grace."* " We are not sure," 
he says in another place, " of our repentance, and we 
cannot be certain that in our best works we do not commit 
mortal sins, on account of the hidden vice of vain glory or 
of self love. "t The efficacy of the Sacraments was like- 
wise denied, and instead of divine instruments of grace, 
they were regarded as mere seals of the promises, and 
incentives to faith. The merit of works was totally dis- 
carded, and their necessitv was attacked in terms that were 
not at all favorable to the purity of Christian morals. Not 
only did his adversaries accuse him of opening the flood- 
gates of corruption ; but his apologists themselves have 
been obliged to acknowledge that his language needs the 
mildest interpretation to reconcile it with the universally 
acknowledged principles of morality. Walch, a Lutheran 
divine, in a learned work on the symbolic books of his 
communion, observes : " Certain maxims of Luther are 
objected to us such as 4 that purity of doctrine must be 
strictly attended to, but that sanctity of life is not to be 
inculcated so strenuously ;' 'the more wicked you are, 
the nearer you are to grace ;' * no sins but unbelief alone, 
can damn a man ;' * it is as necessary to have conjugal inter- 
course, as it is to eat, drink, and sleep.' We do not deny 
that such expressions of the sentiment of the blessed man 
are to be found !"$ To meet the charge of licentiousness 

* Serm. de pise. Petri. 

f Luth. prop. 48. T. I. 1518. 

i Introd. ad libros symbol. Luther. 1. 1. c. iii. §. xl. 



ORIGIN OF LUTHER* S DOCTRINE. 17 

which such language warrants, his apologist appeals to the 
morals of Luther himself, — a proof, at least, of a very 
questionable character. It is sufficient for my purpose 
to have shown the occasion of the system of justifi- 
cation by faith alone as propounded by him, and the con- 
sequences which followed it, namely the discarding of 
penitential works, the denial of the efficacy of the Sacra- 
ments, and the undervaluing of good works, together with 
the adoption of language of a licentious tendency. " The 
tree is known by its fruits." 

The immediate associates of Luther found it necessary 
to relinquish or modify his principles on this important 
point ; and in the Confession of Augsburg, which was 
drawn up by Melancthon, a great approach was made to the 
Catholic doctrine. The merit of good works was partially 
acknowledged; since by them we are said to merit an 
increase of the gifts of God, and various rewards.* In the 
Confession of Strasburg still greater advances were made, 
and the Catholic belief on justification was adopted, though 
expressed in different terms !t The main point on which 
Luther insisted was virtually abandoned by his professed 
adherents, who, in order to shield themselves from the 
dreaded imputation of approximating to the Catholic doc- 
trine, endeavoured to obscure it by misrepresentation, and 
encumber it by incongruous and fantastic additions.^ 

* Art. VI. Synt. Gen. p. 12. 20. 21. 

j- Confess. Argentorat. Cap. III. IV. and V. 

^ Vide Bossuet, Histoire des Variations 1. III. passim. 



18 



CHAPTER II. 



TROTESTANT TENETS. «• 



It is not my desire, or intention, to charge any sect 
with consequences which may flow from their tenets, when 
those are disavowed by them, or to give a more unfavora- 
ble view of the tenets themselves, than the language in 
which they are expressed necessarily presents. Men 
are entitled to explain their own principles ; and it is grati- 
fying to perceive that a respect for the purity of Chris- 
tian morals pervades all the formularies of the sects, and 
induces them to abjure what some conceive to be the 
natural tendency of their fundamental maxims. Justifica- 
tion by faith only, being the leading principle of Luther, 
has continued to be a distinctive tenet of most Protestants. 
Some have adopted the principle in its greatest latitude, 
and have boldly maintained Jintinomianism, denying the 
obligatory force of the moral law ; but most generally the 
various Protestant societies have rejected this consequence, 
and refused to acknowledge the justifying character of that 
faith which is not manifested in the observance of the 
commandments. In the thirty nine Articles of the Church 
established by law in England, which, with some modi- 
fications, have been adopted by the Protestant Episcopa- 
lians of the United States, and by the Episcopal Metho- 
dists, it is stated: "We are accounted righteous before 
God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 



PROTESTANT TENETS. 19 

Christ by Faith, and not for our works or deservings ; 
Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only is a most 
wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more 
largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification."* Some 
doubt has been raised whether faith was supposed to be 
alone at the moment of justification, or to be the only in- 
strument and means of justification, though actually at- 
tended with other virtues. The adoption of the adverb 
"only," instead of " alone," seems designed to leave a 
certain latitude of opinion on this point ; but the Latin ver- 
sion, which is said to be of equal authority with the text, 
is not in this respect equivocal: "fide sola nos justificari 
doctrina est saluberrima."t The Homily of Justification 
is variously interpreted ; but that of the Passion explicitly 
says : " that the only mean and instrument of salvation re- 
quired of our parts, is faith." It further describes in 
what faith consists : "we must apprehend the merits of 
Christ's death and passion by faith ; and that with a strong 
and steadfast faith, nothing doubting but that Christ by his 
one oblation and once offering of himself upon the cross, 
hath taken away our sins, and hath restored us again into 
God's favor, so fully and perfectly, that no other sacrifice 
for sin shall hereafter be requisite or needful in all the 
world." 

It is thought by some that faith alone suffices for justifi- 
cation, but that the other virtues necessarily follow justifi- 
cation ; so that though the believer is justified at the 
moment he apprehends the merits of Christ by faith, 
before he has conceived sorrow, love, or other pious 
sentiment; yet being justified, he necessarily loves God, 

* Art. XI. 

| Vide apud Bp. Mc'Ilvaine, Oxford Divinity, ch. ix. p. 330. 



20 PROTESTANT TENETS. 

and hates sin. The want of repentance and love in one 
claiming to be justified by faith, is, then, a sure sign that 
he has not the faith which he imagines that he possesses. 
Others conceive that the other virtues must precede justifi- 
cation, being the fruits of a living faith : " This sentence 
that we be justified by faith only, is not so meant by them, 
that the said justifying faith is alone in man, without true 
repentance, hope, charity, dread and the fear of God, at 
any time or season."* Such is the interpretation of Mr. 
Newman, who is supported in this view even by many 
who are not advocates of what is generally known as 
4 Oxford Divinity.' They consider faith " as efficacious 
because it is ' the root of all Christian virtues,' — ' the 
originating principle of love and every good work,' and 
thus in root and branch, the ' complex of Christianity. 't 
While endeavouring to reconcile the principle professed 
by the Reformers with sound doctrine, Mr. Newman 
further says : " The Reformers are not laying down a prac- 
tical direction how to proceed in order to be justified, 
what is required of us for justification, but a large principle 
or doctrine ever to be held and cherished, that in ourselves 
we deserve eternal ruin, and are saved by Christ's mercy, 
and that not through faith only, but through faith and all 
graces.":): Bishop Wilson of Calcutta, though entirely- 
hostile to the Oxford system, does not suppose justification 
to take place without compunction; " Preach justification 
by faith only," (he says in his charge to his clergy,) 
" but that not by a dead, notional belief — a mere presump- 
tion — the faith of devils — but by a living, heart-felt, holy 

* Newman on Justification pp. 282. 285. 
f Vide Mc'Ilvaine, ch. x. p, 324. 

* Newman p. 281. 



PROTESTANT TENETS. 21 

principle of reliance upon Christ, springing from an 
awakened and contrite spirit."* 

The Westminster Confesssion of Faith, and the Con- 
fession adopted by the Presbyterians of this country, say, 
** Faith, receiving and resting on Christ and his righteous- 
ness, is the alone instrument of justification ; yet is it not 
alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied 
with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but 
worketh by love."t This is further explained in the 
larger Catechism : " Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of 
God, not because of those other graces which do always 
accompany it, or of good works that are the fruit of it, 
nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof, were im- 
puted to him for his justification ; but only as it is an in- 
strument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ, and 
his righteousness. "J The Baptists in their Confession of 
Faith have adopted the very words of the Presbyterian 
Confession. 

It is unnecessary to enter into the details of the various 
subdivisions of opinion that exist on this subject, among 
the many Protestant sects, and it is but justice to acknow- 
ledge that they all (except the antinomians) disclaim the 
consequences favourable to immorality which seem to fol- 
low from their abstract maxims. " With respect to the 
necessity of holiness, both in thought, and in word, and 
in work, as an indispensable qualification for the kingdom 
of heaven, all parties are agreed. "§ Justification by faith 
alone may easily be mistaken for forgiveness, when rashly 
imagined, without sorrow for sin, change of life, or any 
principle of divine love ; and may be thus conceived by 
an enthusiast, or by a libertine : but in this sense it is 

* Charge in 1838. f Chap. xi. §2. * Qu. 73. 

§ Faber's Prim. Doct. of Justification, Pref. xviii, xx. 



22 PROTESTANT TENETS. 

generally disavowed and abjured by Protestants. The 
great points at issue between them and us, are, whether 
the faith required for justification be the persuasion of 
the imputation to the individual of the righteousness of 
Christ, or the general belief of all that God has revealed : 
and whether other dispositions besides faith are required 
for justification, not as the mere signs of faith, but as 
conditions without which justification is unattainable. — 
The Oxford Divines have recently admitted the substan- 
tial correctness of the doctrine of the Council of Trent, 
on the whole subject of justification. " I am inclined, 
says Mr. Perceval, " to believe that there is nothing in 
the Tridentine statements which may not be fairly recon- 
ciled with the Gospel Doctrine."* 

* Perceval on the Roman Schism, p. 365. See also Newman on 
Justification, passim. 



23 



CHAPTER III, 



NATURE OF FAITH. 



According to Archbishop Usher, " the general object 
of true saving faith, is the whole truth of God revealed ; 
but the special object of faith as it justifieth, is the promise 
of remission of sins by the Lord Jesus. . . . Though by 
the same faith whereby I cleave to Christ for the remission 
of sins, I believe every truth revealed ; yet I am not jus- 
tified by believing any truth but the promise of grace in 
the Gospel."* This view of faith is general among Pro- 
testants, many of whom, however, undervalue the neces- 
sity of that faith by which all revealed tenets and objects 
are embraced ; and, making light of what they term sec- 
tarian and speculative tenets, consider this special faith in 
the imputation of the merits of Christ to be alone essential. 
The Catholic Church, on the contrary, teaches that the 
belief of all the revealed truths is that faith without which 
it is impossible to please God, and that it regards the jus- 
tification of the wicked through divine grace; though no 
man is bound to believe, or can believe with certainty, his 
own justification without a special revelation from God. 
" Men," says the Council of Trent, " are disposed for jus- 
tice, when, being excited and assisted by divine grace, 
conceiving faith by hearing, they are freely moved to God, 
believing to be true the things which are divinely revealed 

* Usher's Body of Divinity p. 198. 



24 NATURE OF FAITH. 

and promised, and especially that the wicked man is justi- 
fied by his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ 
Jesus."* With us faith is the belief of all that God has 
taught ; with Protestants justifying faith is the special 
persuasion of our justification through Christ: with us it 
is a homage of the understanding to divine wisdom and 
truth ; with them it is the relying and resting on Christ. 
Luther alleged that he derived the first correct notion of 
faith from a religious of his convent, who, to relieve his 
mind from anxiety, bade him have faith in God, and not 
doubt that his sins were forgiven him. Such an exhorta- 
tion may have been well meant, and certainly did not 
necessarily convey the idea of faith which Luther formed 
from it.t But whatever may have been the source whence 
he derived it, it is certain that his notion of faith was 
utterly erroneous, inconsistent with Scripture and tradi- 
tion, and the origin and root of all his other errors. This 
can easily be shown. 

When our Saviour gave the commission to his Apostles 
to preach his gospel to every creature, he added: " He 
that believeth, and is baptized shall be saved : he that be- 
lieveth not, shall be condemned. "J He evidently spoke 
of that faith which is unto salvation, and he indicated that 
it consisted in assenting to the preaching of the Gos- 
pel. This, as we learn from the corresponding text of St. 
Matthew, means all things whatsoever he had com- 
manded^ It was faith in the divinity of Christ, which 
obtained for St. Peter the eulogy and promises which are 
recorded by St. Matthew ;|| and the same strengthened 
him to receive the declaration of Christ, that he would 

* Sess. vi. Cap. vi., Deer, de Justificatione. 

f Vie de Luther par Audin, Vol. I. p. 93. + Mark xvi. 16. 

§ Mat. xxviii. 20. J| Mat. xvi. 17. 



NATURE OF FAITH. 25 

give his flesh for food, his blood for drink.* It is to the 
believer, who, on the authority of Christ, assents to the 
mysteries which are not tested by the eye of sense, that 
beatitude is ascribed : " Blessed are they that have not 
seen, and have believed."! Let any one, understanding 
the term " believe" in its obvious meaning of an assent to 
Divine authority, open the Scriptures, and all things are 
perfectly clear and consistent: but if he attempt to fix on 
it the meaning of a persuasion that his sins are forgiven 
him, he will find himself embarrassed at every step. 
There may be occasionally a secondary meaning, bearing 
some analogy to the primary sense, as when faith is used 
to signify the persuasion of the lawfulness of an act : " all 
that is not of faith is sin :"± or when the confidence 
which faith inspires is indicated by faith : " let him ask in 
faith nothing wavering ;"§ and when miraculous power 
is ascribed to a lively faith : " if you had faith, like to a 
grain of mustard seed, you might say to this mulberry 
tree, be thou rooted up, and be thou transplanted into the 
sea ; and it would obey you :"|| but the general acceptation 
of the term is manifestly the belief of revealed truth, on 
the authority of God. 

This idea of faith is plainly conveyed in the eleventh 
chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, wherein the Apos- 
tle treats of this virtue : " Now faith is the substance of 
things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear 
not."§ It is the fulcrum of our hope : it presents the 
unseen things of futurity to the mind, and realizes them. 
At the same time it receives the testimony of God as to 
the past: " By faith we understand that the world was 

* John vi. 70. f John xx. 23. * Rom. xiv. 23. § James i. G. 
|| Luke xvii. 6. § Heb. xi. 1. 

3 



26 NATURE OF FAITH. 

framed by the word of God ; that from invisible things, 
visible things might be made."* It is the spring of every 
act of worship, the animating principle of religion : " By 
faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding that of 
Cain, by which he obtained a testimony that he was just, 
God giving testimony to his gifts, and by it he being dead 
yet speaketh."t Whilst Cain presented to God only of 
the fruits of the earth, Abel offered a victim from his flock, 
testifying thereby the divine dominion, and presenting an 
apt figure of the lamb that was slain from the beginning of 
the world. The acceptance of his sacrifice, and conse- 
quently his own justice, was miraculously manifested, and 
his example remains on record to stimulate our faith in the 
performance of religious duty. His blood cries from the 
earth, not only against his murderer, but as the type of the 
atoning blood that pleads our pardon. " By faith Henoch 
was translated, that he should not see death, and he was 
not found, because God had translated him : for before his 
translation he had testimony that he pleased God. But 
without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that 
cometh to God must believe that he is, and is a rewarder 
to them that seek him."| Faith in the existence and 
governing providence of God is the foundation of worship, 
and in every state of the world, has been an indispensable 
condition of acceptance with God. Every further revela- 
tion which God makes of himself and his works must be 
received with the same docility. Hence Noe, instructed 
in the divine counsels, although no indication had been 
yet afforded him of the threatened deluge, reverently re- 
ceived the revelation, and framed the ark in obedience to 
the divine mandate. " By faith Noe having received an 

* Heb. xi. 3. f Ibidem v. 4. $ Ibidem v. 5. 



NATURE OF FAITH. 27 

answer concerning those things which as yet were not 
seen, moved with fear framed the ark for the saving of his 
house, by the which he condemned the world : and was 
instituted heir of the justice which is by faith." * His 
obedience, springing from faith, implied the condemnation 
of the unbelieving world, w T hich disregarded the threats of 
divine vengeance. He was made heir of the justice which 
the patriarchs before him possessed, and which was by 
faith. In all these instances justifying faith is spoken of, 
and it is extended to every object of divine revelation, and 
not at all defined as consisting in the persuasion of the 
remission of sins. 

It is important to observe the nature of the faith which 
disposed Abraham for justice. The words cited by the 
Apostle, in his epistle to the Eomans, were written on 
occasion of the promise made to Abraham of a numerous 
posterity. When he had complained of the want of an 
heir, in consequence of which his property was likely to 
pass to the son of his steward, God gave him the assurance, 
that he himself should have a son ; and added : " look up to 
heaven, and number the stars if thou canst. And he said 
to him : Even so shall thy seed be,"t " Abraham believed 
God, and it was reputed to him unto justice." His belief 
regarded the revelation made by God, the promise of an 
heir and a numberless race. It was grounded on the 
divine veracity. It did not directly regard his own justifi- 
cation, though he in whom he believed is the source of all 
justice, and the apostle observes of Abraham that he be- 
lieved " in him that justifieth the ungodly. "{ Abraham 
was not an impious man at the time, for already he had 
yielded to God the obedience of faith, and left his country 

* Heb. xi. 7. j Gen. xv. 5. $ Rom. iv. 5. 



28 NATURE OF FAITH. 

and kindred at his bidding; but the justice which he 
possessed, and which was confirmed and increased on this 
occasion, was the gift of God, and bestowed by his mercy. 
The observation of the apostle is intended to show that 
even Abraham had thus been justified, but the direct object 
of his faith was the revelation then made to him of his 
posterity. 

The difficulties which his own advanced age and the 
sterility of Sara presented to the fulfilment of the promise, 
did not cause him to hesitate, as he knew that the power 
of God is as infinite, as his truth is unerring : " Before 
God, whom he believed, who quickeneth the dead; and 
calleth those things that are not, as those that are. Who 
against hope, believed in hope ; that he might be made 
the father of many nations according to that which was 
said to him : « So shall thy seed be.' And he was not 
weak in faith : neither did he consider his own body now 
dead, whereas he was almost an hundred years old, nor the 
dead womb of Sara. In the promise also of God he stag- 
gered not by distrust ; but was strengthened in faith, giving 
glory to God : most fully knowing that whatsoever he has 
promised, he is able also to perform. And therefore it 
was reputed to him unto justice. "* His faith, then, was 
an Unlimited, unshaken belief in all that God revealed, 
grounded on divine truth and power. The Apostle else- 
where shows its universal character, and ascribes to it all 
the glorious actions of the patriarch. By faith he went 
forth from his country, in obedience to the divine mandate, 
and abode a pilgrim in a strange land, " for he looked for 
a city that hath foundations : whose builder and maker is 
God."t " By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered 

* Rom. iv. 17. f Heb. xi. 10. 



NATURE OF FAITH. 29 

Isaac ; and he that had received the promises, offered up 
his only begotten son : (To whom it was said : In Isaac 
shall thy seed be called.) Accounting that God is able to 
raise up even from the dead."* The divine Omnipotence 
was the support of his faith. 

The faith by which we are justified is in principle the 
same as that which sanctified the patriarchs, although the 
objects of the Christian revelation are more numerous. 
We believe the fulfilment of the promises made to Abra- 
ham, and embrace them as developed in Jesus Christ. 
Abraham joyfully looked forward to the day of Christ in 
whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed ; and 
we count ourselves happy in seeing this prophecy fulfilled, 
by the wide diffusion of the Church wherein these bless- 
ings are realized. We believe in the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost, whose glory has been revealed by the 
only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. In 
the name of this adorable Trinity the gospel is preached, 
and baptism administered. The commendation of Abra- 
ham's faith serves for our consolation : " It is not written 
only for him, that it was reputed to him unto justice: but 
also for us, to whom it shall be reputed, if we believe in 
him that raised up Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead, 
who was delivered up for our sins, and rose again for our 
justification. "t Justifying faith is, then, the unreserved 
belief in God, sovereignly true and powerful; and it re- 
gards particularly the resurrection of Christ from the 
dead, as well as his immolation on the cross for our sins. 
" This is the word of faith which we preach, " says the 
apostle, (applying to the Christian revelation the testimo- 
ny of Moses, " the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth 

* Heb. xi. 1 7. f Rom. iv. 23. 



30 NATURE OF FAITH. 

and in thy heart.") " For if thou confess with thy mouth 
the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath 
raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For, 
with the heart we believe unto justice ; but with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation."* The resurrection 
of Christ is the splendid evidence of his divinity, and is 
particularly embraced by faith, since if Christ be not risen 
again, our faith is vain.f But on his authority we embrace 
all things whatsoever he has revealed, captivating our un- 
derstanding in obedience to him, and levelling every 
height of human intellect that rises up against the 
knowledge of God.J 

By faith, however, we do not mean, as Bishop Mcll- 
vaine, after Chemnitz, alleges, " a mere historical know- 
ledge and naked assent, by which in general we acknow- 
ledge that those things are true which are revealed con- 
cerning God and his Word, not only in Scripture, but 
also in those things which are proposed under the title of 
tradition. "§ Faith is the firm assent of the human under- 
standing to the revelation of God, made known by his 
Church, the pillar and ground of truth ; an assent proceed- 
ing from the divine influence of the Holy Ghost. It is 
necessarily limited to things revealed by God, and it em- 
braces all things, by whatsoever channel it has pleased 
God to communicate them. All things contained in the 
divine Scriptures are to be firmly believed ; but we do not 
indiscriminately embrace every thing that may be pro- 
posed under the title of tradition. Divine and apostolic 
tradition is carefully distinguished from human traditions ; 
and those things only appertain to faith, which, by the 

* Rom. x. 8. -j- I. Cor. xv. 14. 

* II. Cor. x. 5. § Oxford Divinity, p. 180. 



NATURE OF FAITH. 31 

solemn judgment of the Church, or other clear manifesta- 
tion of her belief, are known to have been divinely 
revealed. This traditon is necessary for ascertaining the 
authority of the sacred Scriptures themselves, as without 
it we could not know with certainty which books are 
divinely inspired, so that all Christian faith necessarily 
reposes on tradition.* 

When it is said that implicit faith of many articles is 
sufficient, the meaning is, that persons not instructed in 
all the details of revelation, must, nevertheless, give to 
God the unreserved homage of their understanding, by 
submitting their reason in all things to his truth, and being 
ready to acquiesce in every thing that bears the seal of his 
authority. Explicit faith is, however, required in the 
great mysteries of the Trinity, Incarnation, and Re- 
demption, and other articles according to each one's 
station, duties, and opportunities. Bishop Mcllvaine 
represents the Oxford divines as holding that explicit 
faith in the atonement is not necessary for justification ;t 
but in this he appears to do them injustice: at least such 
is not a Catholic principle.! 

The idea which we present of faith is that which is 
naturally suggested by innumerable passages of Scripture. 
The Lutheran view of it is no where to be found. No- 
where do we find Christ exacting the firm belief of the 
remission of one's own sins as a condition for obtaining 
pardon. When he forgave the sins of the man afflicted 
with palsy, he cheered him by the assurance that his sins 

* For a fuller exposition of this principle I refer to Moehler, 
Symbolik, I. 1. c. v. § 38, also to my Theologia Dogmatica, vol. 1. p. 
341. 

f Oxford Divinity, p. 85 and p. 513. 

t Vide Prop. 64. condemned by Innocent XI. anno. 1679. 



32 NATURE OF FAITH. 

were forgiven him ; " Be of good heart, son, thy sins are 
forgiven thee :'** but he did not demand of him the pre- 
vious conviction of forgiveness as a condition for receiv- 
ing it. He gave the same assurance to the sinful woman, 
who washed his feet with her tears ; and although he 
added, " thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace :"t 
he said nothing to indicate that her faith was her own per- 
suasion that her sins were forgiven. He meant rather to 
relieve her anxious and overburthened heart, lest her 
grief should know no bounds; and he bore testimony to her 
faith, that had led her to the feet of her physician, and 
opened the fountains of tears to wash away her stains. 
He gave Zacheus the assurance of pardon, after this peni- 
tent publican had declared his determination to distribute 
half of his property in alms to the poor, and to make four- 
fold restitution for the injustices which he had committed.^ 
The dying thief received the same assurance, when he 
humbly implored a favourable sentence. § On the other 
hand, the assent of the mind to divine truth is constantly 
indicated by faith. In reproaching the Jews for unbelief, 
Christ referred them to the writings of Moses, which bore 
testimony of him ; and he declared that if they believed 
what Moses had written, they would receive with full 
faith the doctrine which fell from the lips of Him whom 
Moses pointed out : " If you do not believe his writings ; 
how will you believe my words ?"|| He threatened them 
with death in their sins, unless they believed that he was 
the light of the world, the promised Saviour : "If you be- 
lieve not that I am he, you shall die in your sins :"^f from 
the blind man whose sight he had restored, he demanded 

* Mat. ix. 2. ©apcffc. f Luke vii. 50. 

t Luke xix. 8. § Ibidem, xxiii. 42. 

|| John v. 50. If Ibidem, viii. 24. 



NATURE OF FAITH. 33 

the belief of his divinity : " Dost thou believe in the Son 
of God?" and on his declaration of his divine character, 
the man professed his faith, and manifested it in humble 
worship : " He said : I believe, Lord. And falling down, 
he adored him."* He required belief in his works, which 
bore testimony of his divine origin, and many, convinced by 
them, and by the testimony of John, " believed in him."t 
When he declared himself the principle of resurrection 
and life ; when he promised life to every believer, and 
questioned Martha on her faith, she meekly answered: 
" Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son 
of the living God, who art come into this world. "J 

St. John recorded the miracles of his divine Master in 
order to strengthen the faith of his disciples in his divini- 
ty, that so they might have life through him : " These are 
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the 
Son of God : and that believing you may have life in his 
name."§ Philip the deacon would not administer Bap- 
tism to the candidate, until satisfied of his faith: and he 
made the solemn profession of it: "I believe that Jesus 
Christ is the Son of God."|| It is the same faith that 
Paul required of the trembling jailor, asking what he 
should do for his salvation : " Believe in the Lord Jesus : 
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. "If Here, as 
every where else, faith in the Lord Jesus is the belief of 
his divinity, of the mystery of redemption through his 

* John, ix. 38. f Ibitlem x - 42. * Ibidem, xi. 27. 

§ John, xx. 31. || Acts viii.37. 

. Tf Ibidem, xvi. 31. The Greek has erfi, in this place as also Acts x. 
42. xi. 17. xxii. 19. Rom. iv. 24. But in general h$ in is used, in 
the passages, which are almost numberless, wherein entire assent to the 
Divine Teacher is signified. The protestant version has substituted 



34 NATURE OF FAITH. 

blood, and of the whole revelation which he, the only-be- 
gotten who is in the bosom of the Father, has made. 

Bishop Mcllvaine adduces this last testimony as fatal to 
the doctrine which he nicknames Romanism. " Em- 
brace," he says, " the answer of St. Paul, and you strike 
Romanism to the heart."* Let him know that we also 
repeat to the inquirer the sublime answer of the Apostle, 
without the least misgiving as to its correct application. 
We promise him salvation, provided he believe in the 
Lord Jesus, and we encourage him to put his entire 
confidence in the merits of Him crucified : we call on 
him to captivate his understanding in obedience to Christ ; 
and when satisfied of the entire submission of his mind 
and will to this Divine Teacher, we wash him in the laver 
of regeneration from the stains of original and actual sin. 
Let those say as much, who, uncertain themselves of the 
truth as it is in Christ Jesus, give false security to the con- 
fiding inquirer, flattering him with the delusion that his 
persuasion of the forgiveness of his sins ensures their re- 
mission. 

Mr. Newman justly explodes the idea of faith consisting 
in the apprehension of the righteousness of Christ crucified, 
— in the persuasion that it is reckoned ours, the moment we 
fancy it to be so accounted : " You hear men speak of 
glorying in the cross of Christ, who are utter strangers 
to the nature of the cross as actually applied to them, in 
water and in blood, in holiness and pain. They think 
individuals are justified immediately by the great atone- 

on every where, and thereby unduly favored the idea of reliance rather 
than assent. The Hebrew has ^ or 7 corresponding to in t or, the 
dative case, after the verb, which signifies belief: J1D3 expresses con- 
fidence. I. Par. v. 20. 

* McTlvain on Oxford Divinity, ch. 1. p. 22. 




NATURE OF FAITH. 35 

ment — justified by Christ's death — justified by what they 
consider looking at his death. Because the brazen serpent 
healed by being looked at, they consider that Christ's 
sacrifice saves by the mind's contemplating it. — Gazing on 
the brazen serpent did not heal ; but God's giving invisibly 
the gift of health to those who gazed. So justification is 
a power exerted on our souls by Him, as the healing of the 
Israelites was a power exerted on their bodies. Christ's 
cross does not justify by being gazed at in Faith, but by 
being actually set up within us, and that not by our act, 
but by God's invisible grace. Men sit and gaze and speak 
of the great atonement, and think this is appropriating it. 
Men say that faith is an apprehending and applying; 
Faith cannot really apply it ; man cannot make the 
Saviour of the world his own ; the cross must be brought 
home to us, not in word, but in power, and this is the 
work of the Spirit. — This is justification."* Bishop 
Mc'Ilvaine, who quotes this testimony, interprets it as 
establishing " our own righteousness as much as our souls, 
our intellect, our affections are our own :" but there is an 
obvious difference, since the grace of our justification is 
communicated by the Spirit of God, and therefore not our 
own, save by the humble acceptance of the divine gift. 

All the ancient symbols of faith professed the great doc- 
trines of Christianity, whilst none of them expressed the 
belief of our justification by the imputed righteousness of 
Christ. " The remission of sins" is, indeed an article in 
the Creed of the Apostles, but it is explained in the Nicene 
and Constantinopolitan Creed as having especial reference 
to " one baptism for the remission of sins," and it embraces 
likewise the pardon which is connected with penance, in 
the exercise of the power given by Christ to remit sins, 

* Newman's Lect. pp. 200. 201. 203. 



36 NATURE OF FAITH. 

or to retain them. No where is the believer found de- 
claring his persuasion that he is justified in Christ. The 
ancient fathers are silent as to this imaginary faith. They 
urge the necessity of believing all that God has revealed, 
as proposed by the Church; and they mark as destructive 
of faith every error against divine tradition : but they no 
where tell us that each one must be firmly persuaded that 
the righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. They 
uniformly affirm that the Catholic faith, in which all the 
revealed doctrines are included, is a necessary condition 
for justice. " Our faith, that is, the Catholic faith, dis- 
tinguishes the just from the unjust, not by the law of 
works, but by the very law of faith. For the just man 
liveth by faith."* Thus writes St. Augustin against the 
Pelagians. Writing, elsewhere, on the virtues of faith, 
hope, and charity, he says, that " faith regards things past, 
present, and to come, for we believe that Christ died, 
which is a past event; we believe that he sits at the right 
hand of the Father, which is a present fact ; we believe 
that he will come to judge, which is a future event."t 
Although treating expressly of faith unto salvation, he does 
not at all require the belief of our individual justification; 
but constantly refers to the revealed doctrines proposed in 
the Church. St. Leo says : " This it is which justifies 
the impious, this it is which makes saints of sinners, if the 
true Deity and true humanity be believed in the one same 
Lord Jesus Christ."J 

In all the contests that, since the establishment of the 
Church, have been carried on for the integrity of faith, the 
universal understanding ever was, that faith is the belief 

* Aug. in 1. III. contra 2 epist. Pelag. 

j- Enchiridion, c. viii. i Serm. IV. de Epiph. 



NATURE OF FAITH. 37 

of the revelation of God, and the disputes entirely turned 
on the points of revelation: to question or deny one of 
which was deemed an outrage to the truth of God, and to 
his majesty. At the commencement of the sixth century, 
St. Fulgentius, treating of the Catholic faith in its whole 
extent, says: "I rejoice that you are anxious to maintain 
the true faith without any tincture of unbelief : for without 
faith no conversion can avail or exist : for the authority of 
the Apostle declares : without faith it is impossible to 
please God ! Faith is the foundation of all good : faith is 
the commencement of salvation. Without this faith no 
one can be numbered among the children of God; since 
without it no one in this life obtains the grace of justifica- 
tion; nor shall he hereafter possess eternal life."* As yet 
it was not discovered that those things were matters 
comparatively unimportant ; that the essential and vital 
point was, that each one, whatever might be his Creed, 
should firmly believe his own justification, through the 
righteousness of Christ! Councils and Pontiffs hurled 
their anathemas against every heresy that raised itself up 
in opposition to the ancient tradition and teaching of the 
Church : and no soothing voice was then heard to lull the 
followers of jarring creeds into security, by directing 
them, whatever might be their sentiments, to believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and be assured of the forgiveness 
of their sins. The fruit of this new idea of faith is seen 
in the religious indifference that puts truth and falsehood 
on a level, and leaves so many wandering through the 
mazes of error, without a thought of the evident danger 
that they may never reach the tree of life. It is this that 
has sapped the foundation of Protestantism.* 

* In libro de fide ad Petrum. f Mohler, Symbolik, 1. I- e. hi. § xix. 

4 



38 NATURE OF FAITH. 

This fatal security is fostered by a misapplication of the 
many texts in which justice and salvation are promised to 
the believer in Christ ; and to render the delusion more 
complete the texts are translated, ' believe on Christ,' as if 
to rest on his righteousness. St. Paul, at Antioch in 
Pisidia, having declared the resurrection of Christ, thus 
addressed his Jewish brethren: "Be it known therefore 
to you, men brethren, that through him forgiveness of sins 
is preached to you : and from all the things, from which you 
could not be justified by the law of Moses. In him every 
one thatbelieveth is justified."* The Apostle justly ascribes 
justification to every one that believes in Christ, because 
justification is proffered to the believer, though on condi- 
tion that his faith be accompanied by penance, and that 
it work by love. He asserts the sufficiency of the atone- 
ment to release men from those bonds of sin from which 
the Mosaic law could not free them. " For it is impos- 
sible that with the blood of oxen and goats sins should be 
taken away. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, 
he saith : Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not : but a 
body thou hast fitted to me, — " He taketh away the first, 
that he may establish that which followeth. In the which 
will we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus 
Christ once."t The believer who is justified is he who 
captivates his understanding in obedience to Christ, and 
embraces him with the affections of his heart. It is an 
abuse of language to apply the term "believer" to every 
one who calls him Lord, or who fancies himself justified by 
his merits, whilst he refuses to accept on his authority the 
mysteries which have been revealed. If we desire the benefit 
of justification, " let us draw near with a true heart in 

* Acts xiii. 38. f Heb. x. 4. 



NATURE OF FAITH. 39 

fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil 
conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water."* 

The belief of the imputation of the righteousness of 
Christ is no where indicated by the belief in Christ, but 
the belief of his divinity, and of all his teaching is the 
obvious force of the expressions. Thus St. John says : 
" Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of 
God."t " Who is he that overcometh the world, but he 
that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God !"1 It is only 
by the constant use of the terms " believe on Christ" to 
express the receiving and resting on his merits, that this 
meaning is so readily attached to them by many readers of 
the Bible, whilst in the context they will be uniformly found 
to designate faith in the revelation made by Christ, and in 
the mysteries proposed by him to man. This divine faith 
was professed by Peter, in the name of the twelve, when 
he said ; " Thou art Christ the Son of the living God ;"§ 
and when he declared their unshaken adhesion, notwith- 
standing the incomprehensible promise of giving them his 
flesh to eat, and his blood to be drunk : " Thou hast the 
words of eternal life, and we have believed and have 
known that thou art Christ the Son of God."|] 

Faith, then, in its general Scriptural acceptation, is the 
belief of what God has revealed. Confidence in the merits 
of Jesus Christ our Saviour is a virtue to be diligently 
cherished ; but it is distinct from faith, although grounded 
on it. We should frequently look to the Cross with faith, 
calling to mind the sufferings of our adorable Redeemer, 
and remembering that his blood was shed to expiate our 
sins. Each of us should say with the Apostle : " I live in 

* Heb. x. 22. f 1 John v. i, * Ibidem 5. 

§ Mat. xvi. 16. || John vi. 69. 



40 NATURE OF FAITH. 

the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and delivered 
himself up for me."* When oppressed by the remem- 
brance of our sins, our confidence should be awakened by 
reflecting that " his blood cleanseth us from all iniquity."! 
When the difficulties which present themselves in the path 
of salvation dishearten us, we should raise our drooping 
spirits by this consideration : " He that spared not even 
his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how hath he 
not with him given him all things ?"J But we should not 
confound this confidence with faith, from which it is 
manifestly distinct. 

# Gal. ii. 20. f 1 John i. 9. * Rom. viii. 32. 



41 



CHAPTER IV, 



FAITH ONLY. 



Luther boldly asserted that faith alone suffices for justi- 
fication: " Faith," he says, "justifies before charity, and 
without it."* " Faith does not justify, nay is not faith, 
unless it be entirely without even the least works. "t Mis- 
applying the words of our Redeemer in regard to the peni- 
tent, he maintained that love cannot precede the forgiveness 
of sins, but is a consequence flowing from it. 1 The natural in- 
ferences from these maxims were so revolting to every Chris- 
tian feeling, and so manifestly opposed to the sacred oracles, 
that the reformer occasionally found it necessary to modify 
these broad assertions, by affirming that faith never exists 
without the accompaniment of the other virtues : § and 
his followers very generally have adopted this modification. 
Melancthon, in the Apology for the Augsburg Confession, 
'says that " we obtain the remission of sin by faith alone 
in Christ, not by love, nor on account of love, or of works, 
although love follows faith. "|| The Book of Concord, 
compiled in 1577, by Andre, Chancellor of Tubingen, and 
other Lutheran doctors, and adopted by the Lutherans, 
declares that " neither contrition, nor love, nor any other 

* In c. ii. ad Gal. j- In iii. prop. t. 1 operum. 

+ Vide apud Bossuet, Histoire des Variations 1. i. § xviii. 
§ In c. xv. Gen. || Apol. de justif. § 26. 



42 FAITH ONLY. 

virtue, but faith alone is the instrument whereby we can 
lay hold on and receive the grace of God, the merit of 
Christ, and the remission of sins."* Thus even those 
who admitted that these virtues should accompany faith, 
as its fruits and evidences, denied them all share in the 
justification of the sinner; whilst others, more strictly in 
harmony with the general tenor of their Master's teaching, 
maintained that they did not precede justification, but fol- 
lowed it. According to one theory, the sinner, before his 
heart is touched with compunction, or warmed with charity, 
lays hold by faith on Christ crucified, and obtains pardon; 
and being thus gratuitously justified without any regard to 
the dispositions of his soul, save his confidence in the Sa- 
viour; he becomes penitent, and he loves his God and Re- 
deemer, whose bounty he has experienced : whilst the other 
presents him as uniting sorrow and faith in the very act 
of obtaining pardon, though faith alone, according to both 
theories, is the instrument of justification. Calvin con- 
tended that penitence arises from justifying faith;t but he 
was careful to deny to faith, which Luther had so extrava- 
gantly extolled, all efficacy or merit, and to make it a mere 
instrument, organ, or recipient, using for this purpose 
the similitude of an earthen vessel in which a rich treasure 
is deposited..! 

* Solid Declar. iii. de fidei justif. § 23. 

f Inst. 1. iii, c. iii. § 1. He admitted, however, that an initial fear 
in many precedes faith, namely, a feeling of terror excited by the an- 
nouncement of divine vengeance against sin: § 2. this is followed by 
the assurance that all our sins are forgiven. In the sects it is no un- 
usual thing, after years of profligacy, to assert the certainty of this 
forgiveness, and to specify the time and place when it was obtained. 

} <« Fides, etiamsi nullius per se dignitatis sit, vel pretii, nos justifi- 



FAITH ONLY. 43 

It is not easy to determine which theory is more 
consonant to the recognised standards of Anglican and 
Presbyterian belief. In the thirty-nine articles it is 
said: "that we are justified by faith only is a most 
wholesome doctrine, and very full of consolation. " : 
"By this phrase," says Newland, "is not to be under- 
stood faith as separated from good works, properly so 
called, but as it is opposed to the rites of the Mosaic law."t 
The Presbyterian Confession says: " faith, thus receiving 
and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone 
instrument of justification ; yet it is not alone in the per- 
son justified, but it is ever accompanied with all other 
saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love. "J 
This is apparently favorable to the theory that supposes 
these graces and virtues as following justification, rather 
than existing prior to it. 

In a charge, delivered to his clergy in 1839, Bishop 
Mcllvaine strongly insists on the instant and perfect justi- 
fication of the sinner, " the moment the hand of his faith 
touches the skirts of the robe of our blessed Redeemer's 
righteousness." In his treatise on Oxford divinity, he 
says : " that justifying faith is, indeed, the root of all 
christian virtues, so that they ' do all spring out necessa- 
rily of a true and lively faith,' we consider a most neces- 
sary truth, exceedingly to be insisted on with every soul to 
whom the gospel is preached. But that faith derives any 
of its justifying virtue from these fruits, which are not its 
life, but its evidences of life, we hold it of great importance 

cat, Christum afferendo, sicut olla pecuniis referta hominem Ioc;i- 
pletat." Ibidem c. ii. § 7. 

* Art. xi. \ Analysis, p. 175, $ Ch. xi 



44 FAITH ONLY. 

to deny; and on the contrary, to maintain that, though 
working by love, as it must if living, faith is effectual for 
justification, simply as an act of embracing Christ, in all 
his offices, and benefits, and requirements, whereby the 
sinner lays hold of his promises and puts on the garment 
of his justifying righteousness."* He quotes the Homily 
of Salvation to prove the mere instrumentality of faith 
itself, and adds : " let it be remarked how carefully and 
strikingly the simple instrumental character of justifying 
faith is here exhibited ; how, as a grace, or work, its effi- 
cacy is excluded."! 

Mr. Newman, on the contrary, interprets the article as 
meaning only " that all is of grace." " Faith is said to 
justify, not that it really justifies more than the other 
graces ; but it has this peculiarity, that it signifies in its 
very nature that nothing of ours justifies us, or it typifies 
the freeness of our justification. Faith heralds forth divine 
grace, and its name is a sort of representation of it, as 
opposed to works. Hence, it may well be honored above 
the other graces, and placed nearer Christ than the rest, as 
if it were distinct from them, and before them, and above 
them, though it be not."J 

From this passage, it appears that Mr. Newman is will- 
ing to give to the Articles a meaning compatible with the 
Catholic doctrine, which ascribes justification to grace, but 
requires in adults faith, compunction, fear, hope, and the 
conversion of the heart to God, as dispositions necessary 
for its attainment. Long before him, the learned Bishop 
Bull had observed : "the moderation of Bucer is greatly 

* Oxford Divinity, ch. ix. p. 324. Note. 

f Ibidem, p. 338. 

-t Lectures on Justification, p. 281. See also Tract No. 90. § 2. 



FAITH ONLY. 45 

to be praised, who declined on this point all controversy 
with the Papists."* 

The Council of Trent, having stated the first move- 
ment of sinners towards God by faith, proceeds to explain 
the other sentiments and affections preparatory to justifi- 
cation, produced in them by divine grace. " Understand- 
ing themselves to be sinners, from the fear of divine 
justice, by which they are seized in a salutary way, they 
turn to the consideration of divine mercy, and are raised 
to hope, trusting that God will be propitious to them for 
Christ's sake, and they begin to love him as the fountain of 
all justice ; and on that account they are excited to a cer 
tain hatred and detestation of their sins, namely to the 
penance which should precede baptism ; finally, they pur- 
pose to receive baptism, begin a new life, and observe the 
divine commandments. "t 

The distinction between the Catholic doctrine and the 
opinions generally prevailing among Protestants, lies then 
in this, that, according to our belief, other dispositions 
besides faith are expressly required for justification, which, 
however, spring from faith, and concur with it to this end ; 
whilst these dispositions are not required as antecedent by 
the terms of the Protestant formularies ; and are denied to 
have any concurring power, or instrumentality, though 
acknowledged to be the fruits and evidences which neces- 
sarily follow. Besides, faith itself, in Catholic doctrine, 
means the assent of the mind to the whole revelation of 
God; whilst to Protestants it signifies the confidence 
and certain persuasion of the imputation of the righteous- 
ness of Christ to the individual believer. According to 

* Harmonia Apostolica, Ch. 2, 
f Sess. vi. cap. vi. <]e justif, 



46 FAITH ONLY. 

the Protestant system, the sinner is pardoned the moment 
he firmly believes that the righteousness of Christ is im- 
puted to him ; but if a true believer, justified by faith, he 
must, of necessity, abandon his evil ways : according to 
Catholic faith, he is roused to fear, encouraged to hope, 
moved to repentance, impelled to a change of life, and thus 
prepared finally to receive pardon. This, however, does 
not necessarily suppose a long lapse of time, for although 
the works of grace, like those of nature, are often gradual, 
God may in a moment touch the heart so as simultaneously 
to excite all those dispositions, and instantaneously to 
grant the boon of forgiveness. 

In the Old and New Testament, forgiveness is promised 
to penitence. From Moses to the inspired author of the 
Apocalypse, all proclaim: "When thou shalt seek the 
Lord thy God thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with 
all thy heart, and all the affliction of thy soul."* The 
Prophets, by the threats of divine judgment, labored to 
awaken sinners to a sense of their unhappy state. Jonas 
proclaimed to the sinful Ninevites the imminent destruc- 
tion of their city, and they by fasting and weeping, 
sought to disarm divine justice. The king in proclaiming 
the fast said : " Let men and beasts be covered with sack- 
cloth, and cry to the Lord with all their strength, and let 
them turn every one from their evil way, and from the in- 
iquity that is in their hands. Who can tell if God 
will turn and forgive ; and will turn away from his fierce 
anger, and we shall not perish? And God saw their 
works, that they were turned from their evil way : and 
God had mercy with regard to the evil which he had said 
that he would do to them, and he did it not."t The hope 

* Deut. iv. 29. - f Jonas iii. 8. 



FAITH ONLY. 47 

of forgiveness was held out to the people of Juda by Joel, 
on condition that they would humble themselves by peni- 
tential exercises, to appease their offended God : " Now 
therefore, saith the Lord : be converted to me with all 
your heart, in fasting and in weeping, and in mourning, 
and rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to 
the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, 
patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. 
Who knoweth but he will return and forgive, and leave a 
blessing behind him, sacrifice and libation to the Lord 
your God?" # Isaias pointed out the abandonment of sin, 
and the performance of works of charity as the means to 
ensure plenary forgiveness for the most grievous delin- 
quents; " Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the 
evil of your devices from my eyes : cease to do perverse- 
ly, learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the op- 
pressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow. And 
then come and accuse me, saith the Lord : if your sins be 
as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow : and if 
they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool."t 

That penance,! that is to say, the sorrow and humilia- 
tion of the sinner, is under the new dispensation a neces- 
sary disposition for forgiveness, we know from the infalli- 
ble teaching of Christ himself. In his last address to his 
disciples, previous to his ascension, he said : " Thus it is 
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise 
again from the dead the third day : and that penance and 
remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all 

* Joel ii. 8. f Isaias i. 16. 

t Mstavoui poenitentia : we need not here define the Scriptural 
force of this term, which certainly far exceeds its classic acceptation. 
Vide, Luke x. 13. 



48 FAITH ONLY. 

nations."* The answer of St. Peter to the Jews who " had 
compunction in their hearts" for the death of Jesus Christ, 
was conformable to this declaration : " Do penance,t 
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
Christ for the remission of your sins. "J The humble ac- 
knowledgement of sin, not the persuasion that it is for- 
given, is the condition assigned by St. John the Evangelist 
for ensuring pardon : " If we confess our sins, he is faith- 
ful and just to forgive ns our sins."§ It is manifest, then, 
that repentance, or penance, is in the Gospel, as well as 
under the law, a condition for forgiveness, for which if 
more directly prepares the soul than faith itself. The 
publican who ventured not to lift his eyes to heaven, but 
striking his breast cried for mercy, was declared justified 
by the lips of Jesus. It was to the weeping penitent that 
our Divine Redeemer said : " Thy sins are forgiven 
thee, "|| and if he subjoined: " Thy faith hath made thee 
safe, go in peace, "If it was to calm her agitated mind by 
the assurance of entire pardon, and to instruct us in the su- 
pernatural source of her tears. They were not the con- 
sequence of a mere human feeling of sorrow and of 
shame ; but they proceeded from heavenly inspired faith, 
whereby she discovered the turpitude of sin, as well as 
the infinite mercy of her Saviour God. It was to the 
humbled thief, recognising the justice of the punishment 
which he was suffering, and rebuking the blasphemous 
partner of his fate, and imploring a favorable remembrance 
in the heavenly kingdom, that Christ gave the consoling 
promise of immediate beatitude. The Apostle St. Paul 
used indulgence towards the penitent and humbled Corin- 

* Luke xxiv. 46. f Mstavoqca'ts . * Acts ii. 38. 

§ 1 John 1. 9. || Luke vii. 48. ^ Acts,viii. 22. 



FAITH ONLY. 49 

thian ; and St. Peter pointed out to Simon the magician, 
penance, the abandonment of sin, and prayer as the means 
of pardon : " Do penance therefore from this thy wicked- 
ness ; and pray to God if perhaps this thought of thy 
heart may be forgiven thee."* 

It may appear that the necessity of compunction and 
other virtues being now admitted, at least as necessary 
consequences of justification, it is of little importance to 
determine whether they must precede it or not, and what 
share they have in preparing the soul for it. If so, why 
has the world been convulsed to establish the doctrine of 
faith only ? Why has it been alledged that the very es- 
sence of Gospel truth was at stake ?t In reality the Re- 
formers are convicted of having to no purpose magnified 
the justifying character of faith, since their followers have 
been forced by the shocking consequences of their prin- 
ciples, to admit in a different form the necessity of the 
virtues which they so strenuously excluded from all share 
in justification. The recent concessions of the Oxford 
divines plainly show that there was no just cause for the 
clamors excited on this subject. Yet it is important to 
maintain, as the Catholic Church does, the ancient faith 
once delivered to the Saints, in its primitive simplicity, 
and to preach forgiveness on the conditions on which it 
w r as announced from the beginning. By the adoption of 
a different method the sinner is led to make an effort of 
mind to persuade himself that he is justified through 
Jesus, and to attach comparatively but little importance to 
those exercises of humility and compunction, which are the 

* Acts viii. 22. 

f Luther did not hesitate to say, that if this point be ceded, the 
Reformation is at an end : " fallt aber die Lehre, so ist es mit uns 
gar aus," Tisch-reden. 

5 



50 FAITH ONLY. 

fruits and safeguards of repentance. Dr. Pusey justly 
complains, that "by an artificial wrought up peace, it 
checks the deep and searching agony, whereby God, as in 
a furnace, purifies the soul."* Instead of remaining at 
the feet of Jesus, washing away with penitential tears the 
stains of many years, the sinner flatters himself that he 
would detract from the efficacy of the atonement, by sup- 
posing that his own humiliation and sorrow were neces- 
sary for its application. Instead of going forth from the 
place of temptation, ashamed and confounded at his weak- 
ness and perfidy, and weeping bitterly for having by his 
deeds, if not by his words, denied his Lord, he fixes his 
eyes on the Cross, and consoles himself by the soothing 
reflection that his sins are undoubtedly forgiven him. He 
cares not to repass in the bitterness of his soul, the years 
of his misspent life ; he cares not to redeem his iniquities 
by alms, and his sins by mercy towards the poor: he 
cares not to bring forth fruits worthy of penance : but 
he deems it criminal to doubt' whether any thing more is 
necessary on his part to secure the entire pardon of his 
sins. Dr. Pusey observes that in this system " to revert 
to past sins is to doubt of Christ's mercy. To bear a 
painful recollection of it is to be under the bondage of the 
law ; to seek to efface it by repentance is weakness of 
faith ; to do acts of mercy, or self-denial, or self-abase- 
ment, or to fast with reference to it, is to interfere with 
* the freeness and fulness of the Gospel,' to insist upon 
them, is to place repentance instead of Christ."t Thus 
whilst abstractedly it is admitted that contrition must ac- 
company or follow faith, its virtue is annulled ; and a se- 
curity is indulged, which to the humble believer must al- 
ways appear an excess of pride and presumption. 

* Pusey's Letter, p. 56. j- Ibidem, pp. 74. 8. 54, 5. 



51 



CHAPTER V. 



NECESSITY OF FAITH. 



Inattention to the scope of an author must necessarily 
expose us to mistake his meaning, especially if the cir- 
cumstances in which he wrote be widely different from 
those in which we are placed. Thus it has happened that 
many, not attending to the circumstances in which the 
epistle to the Romans was composed, have strangely mis- 
applied the words of the apostle. To understand him 
correctly, we should represent to ourselves the rising 
church of Rome composed of converts from pagan super- 
stition, and from Judaism — the Jews being at that time 
spread throughout the empire, especially in all the large 
cities. The doctrine of salvation through the atoning 
blood of a Man-God, crucified on Calvary, was " unto the 
Jews, indeed, a stumbling-block, and unto the Gentiles 
foolishness";* and the converts to the faith, although ad- 
miring in it the wisdom of God and the power of God, 
were not always entirely free from some sentiments, or 
views, not in perfect harmony with the belief of that 
mystery. Jealousies manifested themselves from time to 
time between those of Jewish and those of Gentile origin; 
and the abhorrence which the Jew had entertained for the 
profane heathen, and the contempt with which the polish- 
ed Roman had been accustomed to view the Israelite, were 

* 1 Cor. i. 23. 



52 NECESSITY OF FAITH. 

not always entirely absorpt in the common feeling of 
Christian fraternity. Hence the Jew claimed some supe- 
riority over the Gentile, for his privileges as one of the 
chosen people of God, the depositary of his oracles, the 
guardian of his law, the heir of his promises; whilst the 
Gentile attached some value to the sublime teaching of that 
philosophy by which Rome was raised above the barba- 
rian. It was for the purpose of utterly rooting out these 
vain distinctions, and of humbling the pride of all, that 
the apostle wrote this sublime epistle,* in which he plainly 
shows that no work of the law, that is, no ceremonial ob- 
servance, and no work done by a mere natural impulse or 
effort could avail to salvation ; and that all, whether Jew 
or Gentile, were sinners, and needed the saving grace of 
Jesus Christ. 

He placed before them, in the first instance, the enor- 
mous excesses into which the heathen philosophers, whose 
wisdom was vaunted, had fallen; and he then passed to 
show that the Jews, notwithstanding their high privileges, 
had been guilty of great prevarications; whence he con- 
cluded that all had sinned, and needed divine grace and 
mercy; and he pointed out Jesus crucified as the propitia- 
tion by which alone paYdon could be obtained, and justice 
and salvation secured. These benefits are proffered by 
him not indiscriminately, or unconditionally, but to the be- 
liever, who by faith recognises and adores the crucified 
Redeemer. " Now without the law," he says, " the jus- 

* " The Jews believed that justification belonged peculiarly to their 
nation, and that on account of the piety of their ancestors, their 
knowledge of the law, and the observance of its ceremonies; notions 
confuted in the epistles, (particularly to the Romans) and necessary 
to be known for our understanding the confutation. ,, — Institutes of 
Biblical Criticism , by Gerard. 617. 



NECESSITY OF FAITH. 53 

lice of God is made manifest, being witnessed by the law 
and the prophets. Even the justice of God by faith of 
Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe in 
him, for there is no distinction. For all have sinned, and 
do need the glory of God. Being justified freely by his 
grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 
whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through 
faith in his blood, to the showing of his justice, for the 
remission of former sins, through the forbearance of God, 
for the showing of his justice in this time : that he him- 
self may be just, and the justifier of him who is of the 
faith of Jesus Christ."* All this is evidently directed to 
establish the necessity of faith in order to justification, 
which is proffered to every one that believes, though not 
received by any whose belief does not produce repentance 
and conversion. The inference which the apostle drew, 
was that the Jews' boasting of the ceremonial observances 
was overthrown : " Where then is thy boasting ? It is ex- 
cluded. By what law ? Of works ? No, but by the law of 
faith. For we account a man to be justified by faith with- 
out the works of the law."t He indignantly asks, " Is 
he the God of the Jews only ? Is he not also of the Gen- 
tiles ? Yes, of the Gentiles also. "J He insisted that the 
principle of justification and salvation must be common to 
both ; and that therefore the believer, whether Jew or Gen- 
tile, was justified by faith: " For it is one God that justi- 
fied circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through 
faith. "§ But he described faith as productive of every 
sublime virtue. Having enumerated many of the ancient 
heroes, " who by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought jus- 
tice,"!! he described the sufferings of others " of whom the 

* Rom. iii. 21. f Ibidem 27. * Ibidem 29. 

§ Ibidem 30. || Heb. xi. 33. 



54 NECESSITY OF FAITH. 

world was not worthy,"* and who nevertheless patiently 
endured all, " being approved by the testimony of faith. "t 
To undeceive the Jews, who attached undue importance 
to the ceremonial observances of the law, St. Paul under- 
took to show that Abraham, their father, owed his accept- 
ance with God to faith, rather than to circumcision. " For 
what saith the Scriptures, Abraham believed God, and it was 
reputed to him unto justice. Now to him that worketh, 
the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but accord- 
ing to debt. But to him that worketh not, yet believeth 
in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reputed to 
justice, according to the purpose of the grace of God. "J 
He observes that this was said before he had received cir- 
cumcision, so that "he received the sign of circumcision 
a seal of the justice of the faith which he had being cir- 
cumcised: that he might be the father of all them that be- 
lieve being uncircumcised, that unto them also it may be 
reputed to justice. "§ Thus the supernatural principle of 
faith was the source of justice to this great patriarch; and 
circumcision served as a divine seal, confirming and testi- 
fying the justice of faith ; and the same divine faith was 
to be for ever the source of justice to the uncircumcised 
Gentile converts, and to the circumcised converts from 
Judaism, so that Abraham might be the father of all the 
children of faith, and might extend the privileges of cir- 
cumcision even to the uncircumcised, who emulate his 
faith: "and might be the father of circumcision, not to 
them only that are of the circumcision, but to them also 
that follow the steps of the faith, that is in the uncircumci- 
sion of our father Abraham. "|| 

As the faith of Abraham was accepted in place of 

* Heb. xi. 38. f Ibidem 39. * Rom. iv. 3. 

§ Ibidem 11. || Ibidem 12. 



NECESSITY OF FAITH. 55 

works, — as it was deemed well pleasing and worthy of 
reward, through this gracious acceptance of God, so faith 
is to be reputed to justice to all who believe. Here, then, 
is a position clearly at variance with the assertion of the 
Presbyterian Confession, that the faith of believers is not 
imputed to their righteousness. Faith is the principle of 
justification, through which peace of conscience is obtain- 
ed, the soul attains a supernatural elevation, and the well- 
grounded hope of celestial glory is cherished: "Being 
justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have 
access through faith into this grace wherein we stand, and 
glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God."* It 
does not, indeed, merit the boon ; but it is graciously ac- 
cepted through Jesus Christ, when it has the necessary 
qualities. The apostle insists on this supernatural prin- 
ciple of justification, that Jew and Gentile may elevate 
their thoughts above the ceremonial observances of the 
law, or the natural works of man, and seek a divine means 
of grace and glory. This principle is not, however, 
sterile: it produces every Christian virtue, and is, there- 
fore, deservedly regarded as the great means of justifica- 
tion and salvation, since without it no other avails, and it 
places within our reach every means necessary to ensure 
them. "Our faith," says Newland, "must receive the 
whole gospel, the precepts as well as the promises of it, 
and regard Christ in his threefold character of a prophet 
to teach, a king to rule, as well as a priest to save us."t 

The whole teaching of the Apostle is, then, directed 
to establish the necessity of faith, not as opposed to super- 
natural works, which, on the contrary, are its fruits, but as 
compared with any means, merely natural or legal. " The 

* Rom. v. 1. f Analysis of Burnet. Art. x. p. 175. 



50 NECESSITY OF FAITH. 

works which the Apostle excludes from having any influence 
in the justification of sinners, are not works proceeding 
from faith, but works of law," as Macknight observes.* 
So far from extolling faith to the prejudice of the other 
virtues, he earnestly exhorts to their practice, especially 
in the three last chapters of this epistle, and elsewhere he 
declares : " if I should have all faith, so that I could 
remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."! 
The faith of which he spoke is the parent of this virtue, as 
he observes in his epistle to the Galatians, showing that 
the distinctions of Jew and Gentile are forgotten where 
this virtue is found : "for in Christ Jesus neither circum- 
cision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision : but faith 
that worketh by charity. "J " It is to be carefully ob- 
served," says Macknight, " that he hath no where said, 
that believers are justified by faith alone. "§ 

Unbelievers have argued against the truth of Christi- 
anity on account of the necessity of divine faith which it 
establishes, thereby, as they allege, placing salvation out 
of the reach of innumerable millions to whom the mystery 
of a crucified Redeemer was never proclaimed. To 
meet this difficulty, Macknight maintains that the faith of 
those who have not received an external revelation, may 
be acceptable to God, their inclination to know his will, 
and to do it, being regarded instead of more perfect 
knowledge.il There is no doubt that according to the oppor- 
tunities of instruction, more explicit belief is required ; and 
Catholic divines of great celebrity have maintained, that for 
those who have had no opportunity whatever of hear- 

* Essay vi. on Justification, § i. f 1 Cor. xiii. 2. 

$ Gal. v. 6. § Essay vi. on Justification, § i. 

li Ibidem § iii. 



NECESSITY OF FAITH. 57 

ing the gospel preached, salvation is attainable without 
the knowledge of its mysteries : yet this charitable senti- 
ment supposes that those persons conceive divine faith by 
the interior light of grace, and from supernatural motives 
believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who 
seek him. It supposes the unreserved submission of the 
understanding to God, and consequently a disposition to 
receive with profound homage whatever he has revealed. 
Individuals thus divinely enlightened, amidst the darkness 
of heathenism, owe the grace which is given them to the 
atonement of Calvary, and if by faith, so imperfect in its 
development, they attain to salvation, it is in the name of 
Jesus they are saved. The learned commentator has not 
been as careful as those Catholic divines in qualifying his 
sentiment, though he unequivocally professes that none 
can be justified otherwise than by Christ : but the terms 
in which he describes faith, do not mark a supernatural 
and divine gift,* which is necessary to justification, as the 

* " I have endeavoured to show, that the belief of the doctrines 
of revelation is not necessary to the justification of those who are 
destitute of revelation ; and that neither the belief of any particular 
doctrine, such as that Jesus is Christ the Son of God, nor of any 
determinate number of doctrines, such as those contained in creeds 
and confessions, is necessary to the justification of all who enjoy 
revelation : because all have not an equal opportunity of knowing, 
nor an equal capacity to comprehend these doctrines : but that justi- 
fying faith consists in one's believing such doctrines of religion as 
God hath given him an opportunity and a capacity of knowing; 
and in his being at pains to acquire such a knowledge of these doc- 
trines as his talents and opportunities enable him to acquire ; whe- 
ther he hath nothing but his own reason and conscience to direct him, 
or hath these faculties aided by an external revelation." He had 
said above, " this liberal doctrine the apostle Paul, if I mistake not 
his meaning, hath expressly taught Rom. iv. 11." ! 



58 NECESSITY OF FAITH. 

whole reasoning of the Apostle clearly shows. The lati- 
tude which Macknight allows to those who have known 
the Christian revelation, is equally opposed to that cap- 
tivity of understanding which St. Paul assigns as the 
triumph of gospel truth. The mercy of God may favora- 
bly regard such as are invincibly ignorant of some particu- 
lar point of doctrine : but the whole body of revelation is 
sufficiently marked with the seal of divine authority to 
render it exceedingly credible, and we cannot admit that a 
creed less or more comprehensive may be professed ac- 
cording to each one's capacity and opportunity. Faith is 
one as God is one ; and the deep, although often concealed, 
pride which opposes the revealed mysteries, cannot afford 
security to the rash mortal who pleads want of opportunity, 
or want of capacity. It is not required of us to compre- 
hend, but with humble faith to believe, what God has 
revealed. 

The necessity of faith is strongly declared by the 
Council of Trent : " Faith is the commencement, founda- 
tion, and root of all justification : without it, it is impos- 
sible to please God, and to come to the society of his 
children."* St. Augustin gives this view of faith : " the 
work is great, but from faith. I praise the work built up, 
but I see the foundation of faith : I praise the fruit of the 
good work, but I acknowledge the root in faith. "t When 
St. Paul so strongly urged the necessity of faith, he was 
only repeating the maxim proclaimed by St. Peter before 
the council : " There is no other name under heavengiven 
to men, whereby we must be saved. "J Having already 
showed the Jews that they were transgressors of the 
Mosaic law, and reproached the Gentiles with their grievous 

vi. c. viii. f In Ps. xxxiii. t Acts iv. 12. 



NECESSITY OF FAITH. 59 

violations of the natural law, he insisted that neither could 
claim salvation on the score of justice. They must look 
to the atoning sacrifice of Calvary, and seek pardon 
through that blood which cleanseth us from all iniquity. 
If he did not urge at the same time the necessity of com- 
punction for their sins, and of sincere conversion to God, 
it is because he was rather engaged in overthrowing Jew- 
ish prejudices, than in unfolding the dispositions of soul 
that prepare for justification. The prince of the apostles 
did not fail to admonish his hearers of that necessity, when 
he addressed the Jews, and exhorted them to embrace sal- 
vation through Jesus Christ: "Be penitent, therefore, and 
be converted, that your sins may be blotted out."* The 
necessity of faith on which St. Paul insisted, so far from 
eecluding the other virtues, proves their necessity. 

* Acts iii. 19. 



60 



CHAPTER VI. 

GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 

Although faith, fear, hope, sorrow, and love, concur to 
prepare the soul for justification, it is, nevertheless, un- 
doubtedly true, that this is a gracious gift of divine mercy, 
to which no previous disposition entitles it. Nothing that 
the sinner can do to appease God, can give him a right to 
forgiveness ; even those acts which proceed from grace do 
not give him a strict title, although they ensure the boon, 
inasmuch as God, in regard to the sacrifice of the cross, 
has mercifully promised pardon to the penitent. The 
language of the Analysis of Burnet is to the same effect : 
" Our faith, which includes our hope, love, repentance, 
and obedience, is the condition that makes us capable of 
receiving the benefits of this redemption. " # Even Mac- 
knight writes : " The law which requires faith working 
by love in order to justification, effectually excludeth all 
boasting ; because works proceeding from faith being im- 
perfect, do not entitle him who performs them to justifi- 
cation. If such a person be justified, it must be by free 
gift ; consequently he cannot boast of his justification as 
merited. "t The Council of Trent thus clearly expresses 
the gratuitous character of justification : " We are said to 
be gratuitously justified, because none of those things 

* Art. x. p. 178. f Essay on Justification, § 1. 



GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 61 

which precede justification, whether faith or works, merit 
the grace itself of justification; for ■ if it is grace, it is not 
now of works ; otherwise,' as the same apostle says, * grace 
is no more grace'. "* When the ancient fathers speak of 
the sinner meriting justification, they use the term in an 
enlarged sense, as implying a disposition of soul, which, 
according to the merciful economy of God, is followed by 
this boon. Thus, St. Augustin writes : " The very re- 
mission of sins is not without some merit, since faith 
obtains it: for faith is not without merit. With this faith 
the publican cried : O God, be merciful to me a sinner ; 
and he went home justified by the merit of faithful hu- 
mility : since he who humbles himself shall be exalted. "t 
St. Cyprian in like manner says : " Whilst the Pharisee 
indulged self complacency, the publican rather merited to 
be sanctified, who placed not his hope of salvation in 
the confidence of his own innocence, since no one is inno- 
cent, but prayed, humbly confessing his sins. "J This 
merit is plainly no other than the fulfilment of a condi- 
tion, to which the divine mercy is promised : " A sacri- 
fice to God," cried the penitent Psalmist, " is an afflicted 
spirit: a contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not 
despise. "§ It is to mercy the penitent appeals ; he pleads 
not his own merits : he alleges not the depth of his sor- 
row, or the severity of his penance, as entitling him to 
pardon ; but acknowledging his sin, he awaits from the 
clemency of his judge the sentence of forgiveness prom- 
ised to the humble and confessing sinner : " I said, I will 

* Sess. vi. cap. viii. 

•j- In ep. cv. nunc, cxciv. ad Sixtum, § 9. 

* De Orat. Domin. § Ps. 1. 19. 

6 



62 GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 

confess against myself my injustice to the Lord, and thou 
hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin."* " If we con- 
fess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, 
and to cleanse us from all iniquity."! 

The gratuitous character Of justification plainly appears 
from this circumstance, that it is owing entirely to the divine 
mercy that sin is pardoned on any condition whatever. 
Bishop Mc'Ilvaine is careful to observe that faith " is not 
effectual in the application of Christ's righteousness, be- 
cause it is a virtue, or works by love, but simply because 
it is the hand of an unworthy beggar reached out unto and 
taking hold on Christ. "J In the Catholic view the sinner 
is a beggar, humble and wretched, appealing to a munifi- 
cent Lord, whose bounty he acknowledges himself guilty 
of having abused: he is a culprit, self-condemned, ofTerino- 
no extenuation of his guilt, and expressing his grief for the 
outrage committed against the Sovereign Majesty, and pro- 
testing his firm determination never more to repeat his 
transgressions. Recognising a father in his judge, he 
appeals to his affection with which he has so ill corres- 
ponded, and offers to submit to the greatest humiliations, 
if he can only find shelter in his father's house : " Father," 

* Ps. xxxi. 5. f 1 John, i. 9. 

$ Oxford Divinity passim. In reference to this system Macknight 
observes : " A doctrine of this kind, which implies an impossibility, 
and from which many dangerous consequences have been drawn by 
the Antinomians, ought not to be received ; more especially as it hath 
no foundation in Scripture. For none of the inspired writers hath 
called faith a hand which layeth hold on the righteousness of Christ. 
They do not even say, that Christ's righteousness is counted or im- 
puted to believers; far less that they are made perfectly righteous 
thereby ." Essay vi. on Justification, § ii. 



GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 63 

■ 

he cries, " I have sinned against Heaven and before thee, I 
am not now worthy to be called thy son : make me as one 
of thy hired servants.."* 

The merits of Jesus Christ may be called strictly and 
properly the cause of our justification. St. Thomas of 
Aquin expressly says : " the passion of Christ is the 
proper cause of the remission of sins in three distinct 
ways."t By the Council of Trent it is styled the merito- 
rious cause, to distinguish it from the dispositions or 
preparation of heart, required on our part, as also from 
the divine act by which we are in reality justified. — 
" The meritorious cause is our Lord Jesus Christ, who, 
when we were enemies, through the exceedingly great 
charity wherewith he loved us, by his most holy passion 
on the wood of the cross, merited for us the grace of justi- 
fication, and satisfy to God the Father in our stead. "J The 
Article of the Church of England may receive the same 
meaning : " We are accounted righteous before God, only 
for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, 
and not for our own works or deservings.§" Newland in the 
Analysis of Burnet explains it of the meritorious cause of 
our justification.il Dr. Pusey interprets it in the same way. If 
St. Thomas again says : " By faith, likewise, the passion 
of Christ is applied to us to receive its fruit, according to 
that passage in the third chapter to the Romans : * whom 
God proposed a propitiator** by faith in his blood.' But the 
faith by which we are cleansed from sin is not a formless 
faith, which may exist together with sin, but it is faith 
formed by charity : that so the passion of Christ may be 

* Luke xv. 18. f Sum. iii. par. qu. xlix. art. i. Resp. 

t Sess. vi. cap. vii. de justif. § Art. xi. £ 

|| Art. x. p. I7f>. % Letter, p. 41. 

** So it is quoted by St. Thomas. 



64 GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 

applied to us not only as to the understanding, but also as 
to the affection. And in this way, likewise, sins are for- 
given in virtue of the passion of Christ."* Mr. Faber 
represents it as the peculiar distinction of the Church of 
England and other reformed churches, to make the pro- 
curing cause of justification to be the extrinsic righteous- 
ness of Christ, and charges Catholics with making the pro- 
curing cause to be our infused and therefore internal 
righteousness.! Bishop M'llvaine gives this as the sum 
of our doctrine : " We are justified not by what Christ has 
done for us externally, when in the days of his flesh he 
offered himself a sacrifice for our sins, which would be to 
be justified by a righteousness extrinsic and accounted to 
us ; but by what Christ works in us internally, by his 
spirit. "J This leads me to believe that there is, as Bossuet 
has well observed, more misunderstanding than difference 
of sentiment among us on this point ;§ or at least that the 
ambiguity of words has considerably increased the differ- 
ence, whatever it may be. Catholics can have no hesitation 
in acknowledging Jesus Christ as the procuring cause of 
their justification ; and certainly this term is not stronger 
than the term meritorious, as explained in the Council of 
Trent. It is not stronger than the language of St. Thomas 
of Aquin : " Christ by his passion satisfied for the sin of 
the human race, and thus man was liberated through the 
justice of Christ.'' 1 j In this sense the cause is certainly 
extrinsic. If no more were at issue, we should join hands 

* iii. par. qu. xlix. art. 1. ad 5. 
f Faber's Primitive doctrine of justif. Pref. xviii. xx. 
+ Oxford divinity, p. 47. 

§ II y a plus de mal entendu que de veritables difncultes dans 
cette dispute. Histoire des Variations, 1. iii. §. xviii. 
|| Sum. par. iii. qu. xlvi. art 1 . 



GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 65 

as brethren, whom the misconception of terms had unne- 
cessarily divided. Do Catholics pretend that any thing 
which they do justifies them ? God forbid ! With regard 
to the cause of justification, then, let all contention cease.* 
Each one of us says with the Apostle : " God forbid that 
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. "t To the faithful we repeat that Christ "of God 
is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification 
and redemption : that, as it is written : He that glorieth 
may glory in the. Lord." J 

Justification is sought for and obtained only through the 
merits of Jesus Christ: "neither is there salvation in 
any other : for there is no other name under heaven given 
to men, whereby we must be saved. "§ We acknowledge, 
most unequivocally and sincerely, that " we are justified 
freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus, whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, 
through faith in his blood, to the showing of his justice, 
for the remission of former sins, through the forbearance 
of God, for the showing of his justice in this time : that 
he himself may be just, and the justifier of him who is of 
the faith of Jesus Christ."|| Through him alone "the one 

* Bossuet well observes ; " Qui de nous n' a pas toujours cm et 
enseigne que Jesus Christ avoit satisfait surabondamment pour les 
hommes, et que le Pere eternel, content de cette satisfaction de son 
Fils, nous traitoit aussi favorablement que si nous eussions nous- 
memes satisfait t sa justice'? Si on ne veut dire que cela, quand on 
dit que la justice de Jesus Christ nous est imputee, c'est une chose 
hors de doute, et il ne falloit pas troubler tout l'univers, ni prendre le 
titre' de Reformateurs pour une doctrine si connue et si avouee. 
Histoire des Variations, 1. iii. § xxxiv. 

\ Gal. vi. 14. \\ Cor. i. 30. § Acts iv. 12. 

!) Rom. iii. 24. 

6* 



66 GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 

Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave 
himself a redemption for all,"* we hope to find access to 
the Father. No prayers, or tears, or penitential works 
can blot out sin, except as conditions or occasions of apply- 
ing to us the merit of his atonement. The very disposi- 
tions for justification are the fruits of grace. Hence " the 
Council of Trent declares, that the commencement of 
justification itself in adults is to be derived from God, 
through Jesus Christ, by his exciting grace, that is, by his 
vocation, whereby they are called, without any merit on 
their part : so that, they who by their sins were turned 
away from God, are disposed by his exciting and helping 
grace to turn themselves towards their justification, by 
freely assenting to the same grace, and co-operating with 
it, so that, God touching the heart of man by the illumi- 
nation of his holy Spirit, neither man himself is totally 
inactive, in the receiving of the inspiration, since he has 
the power of rejecting it ; nor yet can he by his free will, 
without the grace of God, move towards justice : whence, 
when in the sacred Scriptures, it is said : * Be converted 
to me, and I shall turn to you,' we are admonished of our 
liberty ; when we answer : < Convert us, O Lord, to thee, 
and we shall be converted ;' we confess that we must be 
excited by grace."! This referring the origin of all the 
dispositions for justification to the grace of God, which 
excites, enlightens, and moves the sinner, and the acknow- 
ledgement that these dispositions do not merit justification 
itself, which is the free gift of God granted through the 
merits of Jesus Christ, place the gratuitous character of 
justification in the most conspicuous point of view. Man 
must believe, fear, hope, repent, resolve ; but justification 

* 1 Tim. ii. 5. t Sess. vi. c. v. 



GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. G7 

is not due to these~dispositions, which merely remove the 
obstacles to its reception, that incredulity, pride, impeni- 
tence would otherwise oppose. The Council did not 
hesitate to cry anathema to " whosoever shall say that 
without the previous inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and 
his assistance, man can believe, hope, love or repent, in the 
necessary manner to receive the grace of justification."* 

I know not what more can be desired to vindicate the 
divine glory in the justification of man. The work is 
acknowledged to be one of pure mercy — the only merito- 
rious cause is avowed to be the death of Jesus Christ, 
whom his Heavenly Father has made a victim of sin, that 
we might become just through him : " Him that knew no 
sin, for us he hath made sin, that we might be made the 
justice of God in him :"t the dispositions whereby our soul 
is prepared for this grace, are excited and produced by 
him, although with our free co-operation. In every respect, 
then, the work is gratuitous, and redounds to the praise of 
his grace. 

It is not faith, nor sorrow, nor any virtue that justifies ; 
but God himself mercifully pardons sin and sanctifies the 
soul, graciously accepting the humiliation and sorrow of 
the sinner, to whom he applies the merits of his own be- 
loved Son. " The efficient cause of our justification," 
says the Council of Trent, " is our merciful God who gra- 
tuitously washes and sanctifies, sealing and anointing us 
with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the pledge of our 
inheritance. "J 

The freedom of the human will in accepting the grace 
of justification, and in co-operating with the graces which 

* Sess. vi. Can. iii. de justif. t 2 Cor. v. 21. 

t Sess. vi. Cap. vii. de justif. 



68 GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 

move it to faith, hope, contrition and conversion, seemed 
to the Reformers to detract from the gratuitous charac- 
ter of this divine gift, They represented fallen man 
as utterly destitute of all capacity for good, and of any 
active power to correspond with grace, and fancied they 
glorified God by ascribing to Him solely the justification 
of man, and the production of those dispositions necessary 
for that purpose. " In things spiritual and divine, which 
appertain to the salvation of the soul," Luther says, 
" man is like the statue of salt, into which the wife of the 
patriarch Lot was changed, yea, he is like a trunk of a 
tree and a stone, a lifeless statue, that has no use of eyes, 
mouth, or any of the senses, or of the heart."* " Faith," 
he says, " is the most excellent and difficult of all works, 
by which alone you will be saved, although you should be 
constrained to be without the rest. For it is the work of 
God, and not of man, as Paul teaches ; he produces other 
works with us and through us ; he does this one work in 
us and without us."t His followers did not shrink from 
the avowal of the same principles. In the Declaration of 
Faith, contained in the Book of Concord, they say that 
" man can contribute nothing whatsoever to his conver- 
sion ;"t and they affirm that " the sacred Scriptures ascribe 
the conversion of man, faith in Christ, regeneration, reno- 
vation. . . simply to the divine operation alone, and to 
the Holy Spirit."§ Calvin expressly maintains, that the 
work of conversion entirely belongs to God, and " nothing 
good proceeds from the will, until it has been reformed ; 

* In Genes, c. xix. In the Analysis of Burnet it is observed : 
" Luther at first held the complete slavery of the will." Art. xvii. 
p. 229. 

f De Capt. Babylon, op. torn. ii. p. 284. 

* Solid. Declar. ii, de lib. arb. § 43. § Ibidem § 20. 



GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 69 

and after its reformation, the will, inasmuch as it is good, 
is from God, and not from us."* The Article of the 
Church of England on Free Will is couched in terms that 
do not necessarily exclude the co-operation of man:t 
whence opposite opinions prevail among its members, 
some of whom maintain that " as an individual can con- 
tribute nothing to his creation, the same impotency should 
be inferred with respect to his conversion. "J The Article 
seems to be framed according to the Calvinistic hypothe- 
sis^ The Presbyterian Confession says, that God calls 
his elect by " renewing their wills, and by his almighty 
power determining them to that which is good ; and effec- 
tually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come 
most freely, being made willing by his grace. "|| This 
freedom is not easily understood, whilst they are declared 
to be determined by the almighty power of God; and 
furthermore man is said to be " altogether passive therein 
until being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he 
is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the 
grace offered and conveyed in it." If 

It is clear that all active co-operation of the human will 
is expressly excluded, and that the freedom which is as- 
serted is no more than a complacency produced by the 
same Almighty power by which the will is determined. 
To exclude this abuse of words, whereby the liberty of 
man is professedly admitted, but really denied, the Coun- 
cil'of Trent cried anathema to " whosoever should say, that 
the free will of man when moved and excited by God does 
not in any way co-operate, by assenting to God who ex- 



* Inst. I. ii. c. iii. 8. f Article x. 

t See Analysis of Burnet, art. xvii. p. 241. § Ibidem, p. 263. 

1} Confession of Faith, ch. x. n. 1. 1 Ibidem, n. 2 



70 GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 

cites and calls, whereby he may dispose and prepare him- 
self for obtaining the grace of justification: and that he 
cannot dissent if he wish, but that as some inanimate thing 
he does nothing whatsoever; and is merely passive."* 
According to Catholic doctrine God by his grace stands at 
the door of our heart, and knocks for admittance, and our 
liberty consists in the power of opening to receive him, 
or refusing him entrance. We may hear his voice, and 
yet harden our hearts. The sinner is therefore inexcusable, 
because the means of conversion being proffered to him, he 
voluntarily and freely rejects the grace whereby he could 
be saved. The benignity of God leads him to penance, 
but he despises the riches of divine goodness, and patience, 
and long suffering, and according to the hardness of his 
impenitent heart, treasures up for himself wrath against 
the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of 
God.f The penitent, on the contrary, freely yielding to 
grace, grieves for his sins, which he might still love with 
a perverse will ; abandons the occasions of them, which 
with criminal temerity he might still frequent; humbly 
sues for pardon, which he might flatter himself to obtain 
at some future time, whilst in the mean time he continued 
in the career of vice. He is moved, and excited, and 
drawn by the sweet influence and attractions of grace ; 
but not determined by Almighty power, because God has 
created him a free agent, and made his salvation dependant 
on the exercise of his liberty in corresponding with grace. 
How, may we ask, can our co-operation be supposed to 
detract from the gratuitous character of justification? The 
liberty of our will is the gift of God, and its good employ- 
ment, under the influence of his grace, must redound to 

* Sess. vi. Can. iv. de justif. f Rom. ii. 



GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 71 

his glory. When he has arrested the sinner in his evil 
course, and substituted a heart of flesh for his former 
stony heart; when he has changed his affections, and 
breathed into him that pure and holy love, which gives him 
a loathing for the gross objects of sense; when he has 
drawn him powerfully, but sweetly, to his service, is it 
derogatory to his glory to avow, that man has humbly ac- 
cepted the pardon and gifts bestowed by his clemency and 
bounty? It was freely, but at the call of Jesus, that Mat- 
thew arose from his toll-house: it was in joyful obedience 
to his command that Zacheus descended from the tree to 
receive him: it was at his glance that Peter melted into 
tears: and who will pretend that he is not glorified in the 
power which he exercised over their wills, and with which 
they so freely corresponded? The tears of Peter and the 
alms of Zacheus took nothing from the gratuitous charac- 
ter of the pardon and salvation which he granted them. 

As the intimate sense of each individual under the in- 
fluence of grace, and the whole tenor of Scripture prove 
that we are not necessarily drawn to God, and as this 
truth is not now assailed, I forbear any special vindication 
of it.* It is sufficient to observe that the exciting grace 
is gratuitously given, and that the variety observed in the 
dispensation of grace is necessarily to be referred to the 
unsearchable counsels of God: " he hath mercy on whom 
he will; and whom he will he hardeneth."t Pharaoh, 
justly abandoned to the hardness of his own heart, freely 
drew upon himself the vengeance by which he was over- 
taken: Paul, struck to the earth, as he hurried towards 
Damascus, thirsting for Christian blood, freely yielded to 

* See Theologla Dogmatica, vol. ii. pp. 54, 286, and 368, 
f Rom. ix, 18. 



72 GRATUITOUS CHARACTER OF JUSTIFICATION. 

the mercy which invited him. The sinner who is moved 
to tears for his excesses, does not divide with Christ the 
glory of his justification; for he knows and feels, that, but 
for divine mercy and grace, he would still be wandering 
in the hard ways of sin; and he is prompted to invite 
others to yield to the same grace, that they may experience 
the same tender mercy. With the Psalmist he says, "I 
will teach thy ways to the unjust, and the wicked shall be 
converted unto thee, O Lord."* With the Apostle he re- 
peats: " A faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of 
*whom I am the chief."t What glory has not redounded to 
God from the conversion of Augustin, who, after a long 
abuse of his free will by resisting grace, freely yielded to 
its influence, and loudly proclaimed the mercy which had 
pursued him, and won him to virtue!;); Every thing, then, 
in the Catholic docj^ine shows forth the gratuitous charac- 
ter of justification, and promotes the divine glory. Ac- 
cording to the profound remark of Mohler, the Catholic 
gives glory to God, by acknowledging that no effort of his 
own can merit grace; whilst by recognising the liberty of 
his will, in the humble acceptance of grace, and co-opera- 
tion with it, he thanks God for having it in his power to 
glorify him.§ 

* Ps. 1. f 1 Tim. i. 15. 

$ See Confessions of Augustin. § Symbolik, 1. 1. ch, iii. § xi. 



73 



CHAPTER VII. 

MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 

Before we treat of the nature of justification, it is ne- 
cessary to speak of the term by which it is designated in 
Scripture. The application of human language to express 
things divine, must necessarily be imperfect; and great 
errors will ensue, if the attempt be made to define the 
meaning of terms applied to supernatural works, by their 
etymology, or popular, or technical acceptation. Yet the 
main argument of those who deny the inherent nature of 
Christian righteousness is of this fallacious character. It 
is said that the term justify is forensic, and means a judi- 
cial clearance, or acquittal. This meaning, however, can- 
not be grounded on its use by classic authors, for it gene- 
rally means to deem just, ox suitable; sometimes to deter- 
mine; occasionally to acquit; and even to condemn* The 
Scriptural use of the term by the Septuagint, and by the 
writers of the New Testament, is appealed to, as it As 
known that this is often widely different from its accepta- 
tion in classic authors. 

In the Greek version of the book of Deuteronomy it is 
found in a passage wherein judges are charged to " give 
the prize of justice to him whom they perceive to be just, 
and him whom they find to be wicked, they shall condemn 
of wickedness."! This means in general that judges 

* Vide Thesaurum linguae Graecse ab Henrico Stephano. Aweatow* 

t ytjnrrns wtftrp PHVD'nx ipn^rn 

fo*acwtf«cffr. Deut, xxv. 1. 



74 MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 

should render justice to the party who has right in his 
favour; it does not exclusively mean that they should pro- 
nounce a sentence of acquittal, for it is not confined to a 
criminal trial, but it regards any species of litigation be- 
tween men, as the words immediately preceding show: 
" If there be a controversy between men, and they call 
upon the judges." It is clear that this signification of the 
term cannot be alleged in reference to the sinner, on whom 
sentence is not pronounced according to his merits, but 
contrary to his acknowledged deserts. 

In attacking the Oxford divines, who understand justifi- 
cation as implying the communication of a divine gift, 
whereby the soul is sanctified, Bishop M'llvaine asks: 
" How will that sense appear in such a passage as that 
wherein it is said, i He that justifieth the wicked, and he 
that condemneth the just, even they both are an abomina- 
tion to the Lord'* . . . how could it be an abomination to the 
Lord, to justify the wicked, by making him personally 
holy, by an infusion of personal righteousness?"! But 
as the passage has no relation whatever to the act of God 
in justifying the wicked, it is vain to seek the application 
of the term in the sense which it bears when applied to 
such an act4 

The term justify in the text objected means to approve 
of, vindicate and sustain the wicked man in his evil 
course, either by individual expression of sentiment, or by 
official acts. Its meaning when applied to God's justify- 
ing the sinner, must be altogether different, for it is con- 

* Prov. xvii. 15. Vide etiain Isaiah v. 23. 

f Oxford Divinity, ch. iii. p. 60. 

$ See Remarks on the Oxford Theology, by Vanbrugh Livingston, 
p. 81 



MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 75 

stantly represented as a glorious exercise of the divine 
prerogative of mercy : " To him that worketh not, yet 
believeth in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is 
reputed to justice according to the purpose of the grace of 
God."* It is vain to seek an analogous meaning where 
the sense is manifestly and diametrically opposite. To 
justify the sinner, by approving his evil conduct, or suf- 
fering him to escape the just rigor of the law, is an abomi- 
nation to the Lord ; yet He himself glorifies his mercy in 
justifying the sinner, by exciting his faith, and moving his 
heart to compunction, and pardoning his sins, and making 
him just from unjust, and adorning his soul with the 
gifts of grace and sanctity. 

The Greek term foxaooa is used by the Septuagint trans- 
lators to express the idea of defending and maintaining 
the rights of the weak, as in the passage of Isaias, which 
is rendered in our version " defend the widow. "t St. 
Luke employs it to signify the attempt of the lawyer who 
questioned our Saviour, to maintain his ground, to "jus- 
tify himself, "J by asking: Who is my neighbor? But 
if we would know the force of the term, as employed to 
express the dealings of God towards the sinner whom he 
pardons, we must go beyond all these examples, and con- 
sider the term in its immediate connexion with other 
terms expressing more fully this act of divine mercy. 

It is an erroneous supposition that the sacred writers 
ordinarily use the imagery of judicial procedure to ex- 
press the act of God justifying the sinner. On a close 
examination it will be found that this imagery is most 
generally employed to represent the accountability of 
man, and especially the great scrutiny, or general judg- 

* Rom, iv, 5. f Isai. i. 17. * Luke x. 29, 



76 MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 

nient of all mankind at the end of time. To support the 
mere forensic or external acceptation of the term, Ger- 
hard, a Lutheran divine of the seventeenth century, 
boldly asserts,* that, in order to designate the entire work 
of justification, the Scripture employs only terms bor- 
rowed from judicial forms. He cites Ps. cxlv. 7, where 
judgment is mentioned: "Who executeth judgment." 
This, however, regards the exercise of divine providence 
in the relief of the oppressed, and punishment of the op- 
pressor, as the words plainly indicate : " Who executeth 
judgment for them that suffer wrong, who giveth food to 
the hungry." He says that the Judge is designated 
John v. 27 ; but the passage manifestly regards the judg- 
ment after the general resurrection : " He hath given him 
power to do judgment, because he is the Son of man. 
Wonder not at this, for the hour cometh wherein all that 
are in the grave shall hear the voice of the Son of God." 
He refers us for the tribunal to Eomans xiv. 10, but again 
it is that of the last day : " we shall all stand before the 
judgment seat of Christ." The accused in Rom. iii. 19, 
is not the sinner in the act of being justified. The Apos- 
tle had cited several passages of the Old Testament in 
which the corruptions of men were set forth, and he ob- 
served that these crimes must have prevailed among the 
Jews, since the language was addressed to them, so that 
they could not plead innocence, but in humble acknowl- 
edgement of guilt, they should cast themselves entirely on 
divine mercy. "We know that what things soever the law 
speaketh, it speaketh to them that are in the law : that 
every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be 
made subject to God." There is little judicial imagery 

* Loc. Theolog. ed. Cotta, torn. iii. p. 6. 



MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 77 

in this passage, and nothing directed to represent the act 
of justification. The accuser in John v. 45, is Moses at 
the tribunal of the Father, arraigning the unbelieving Jews : 
" Think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There 
is one who accuseth you, Moses, in whom you trust. 
The witnesses (Rom. ii. 15.) are the thoughts of men, 
listening to the dictates of natural reason, by which they 
discriminate between virtue and vice : " Who show the 
work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience 
bearing witness to them, and their thoughts between 
themselves accusing, or also defending one another." 
The judicial process is not referred to in Col. ii. 14, but 
the abrogation of the ceremonial law by the death of 
Christ on the cross. The passage affords us a sublime 
idea of the intimate operation of the spirit of God, par- 
doning sin, and giving life to the sinner : " And you, 
when you were dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision 
of your flesh ; he hath quickened together with him, for- 
giving you all your offences : blotting out the hand-writ- 
ing of the decree that was against us, which was contrary 
to us. And he hath taken the same out of the way, 
fastening it to the cross." The Apostle teaches them 
that the bond or note of hand by which the decrees of the 
law held men fast, was taken out of the way, effaced and 
annulled, after the manner in which instruments were 
wont to be annulled, by driving into them a nail, the cross 
being the means by which this bond was rendered void.* 
This, then, is not a judicial process, but the annulling of 
an instrument by which men should otherwise have been 
bound. The advocate 1 John ii. 1, is rather an inter- 
cessor, rtapaxtytov one who presents his sufferings in our 

* Ef afc/^a; to xah' rjfxujv #£tp6ypot4>oy iol$ Soyfiorfw* 

7 * 



78 MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 

behalf, not to extenuate our sins, but to atone for them. 
" If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the just ; and he is the propitiation for our 
sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the 
whole world." The passage quoted from the Psalms 
xxxi. 1, " Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, 
and whose sins are covered," has no appearance of the 
form of a judicial sentence. The Psalmist had lain in 
silence oppressed by the weight of sin, until at length he 
gave vent to his grief, and acknowledged against himself 
his injustice to the Lord. The assurance of pardon which 
he received from Nathan filled his heart with deep grati- 
tude ; and he expressed the consolation which succeeded 
the silent bitterness of his soul, by exclaiming that it was 
a blessed thing to obtain forgiveness and mercy. This 
was the expression of his own feelings, and not the sentence 
of his Judge. 

Bishop Mcllvaine insists that the judicial sense must 
necessarily be admitted, " where justification is spoken of 
as the opposite of condemnation," and cites Rom. v. 18, 
and Rom. viii. 23. In the first passage the Apostle says : 
" As by the offence of one, unto all men to condemnation : 
so also by the justice of one, unto all men to justification 
of life." "Here most evidently," he observes, "justifi- 
cation imports a judicial clearing from the imputation of 
guilt, in the precise sense and degree in which condem- 
nation imports a judicial fastening of the imputation of 
guilt."* This reasoning seems to suppose that men are 
condemned for the sin of Adam without being really par- 
takers of his guilt, as they are alleged to be justified in 
Christ, without being in reality partakers of his righteous- 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 61. 



MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 79 

ness. For us, who believe that in him all have sinned, the 
comparison implies a real communication of justice. Mr. 
Newman also adopts this view: " In the same sense," 
says he, " in which we are unrighteous or displeasing to 
God, by nature, we are actually righteous and pleasing to 
him in a state of grace."* 

I know not how those who maintain the total depravity 
of human nature, and the inherent corruption of man, as 
consequent on the sin of Adam, can consistently deny that 
justice is really communicated in virtue of the merits of 
Christ. The condemnation in no case supposes any com- 
munication of guilt on the part of the judge, who merely 
declares the fact of guilt, and decrees its legal punishment : 
but a sentence of acquittal supposes legal innocence. 
However the apostle does not use a term indicating a mere 
acquittal. He calls it the " justification of life," on 
which the learned Protestant Commentator Bloomfield, re- 
marks : *« Amh»W&$ f c% seems to mean such justification as 
should restore them to the grace they had forfeited ; 
literally pardon for life.^f The apostle himself had just 
before declared the vast difference between condemnation 
and justification, and how far the blessings of the latter, 
really received and enjoyed, surpass the evils entailed by 
the former : "for if by one man's offence death reigned 
through one : much more they who receive abundance of 
grace, and of the gift, and of justice, shall reign in life 
through one Jesus Christ."J Macknight, Moderator of 
the Church of Scotland, an interpreter of some celebrity, 
explains this as meaning " that they shall have infinitely 
greater happiness in their new life, than they had miseries 
and sorrows in the state into which they were brought 

1 Lect. pp. 98. f In locum. + Rom. v. 17. 



80 MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 

through Adam's disobedience, expressed by the reigning of 
death in this verse and in v. 14."* " The term" adds Bloom- 
field, " expresses height of felicity, with an adjunct notion 
of exalted honour."! There is no warrant in the com- 
parison, or in the context, for understanding justification to 
mean a mere judicial acquittal, unaccompanied by any 
moral change, or sanctin cation. 

The other passage is from Rom. viii. 23. " Who shall 
accuse against the elect of God ? God that justifieth. Who 
is he that shall condemn ? Christ Jesus that died, yea, 
that is risen also again, who is at the right hand of God, 
who also maketh intercession for us." On this text Bishop 
M'llvaine remarks : " Here is the idea of a court, a tribunal, 
a person arraigned ; the accuser is called ; the whole is 
judicial ; and if, by the condemnation spoken of, we could 
understand an act of the judge making the accused guilty 
by the infusion of unrighteousness ; then also by the justi- 
fication spoken of, we might understand an act of the judge 
making the accused just by an infusion of righteousness ; 
but if this interpretation would be absurd in the former 
case : so must it be in the latter ; for the two must 
evidently be interpreted alike. "± In reply to this mode of 
reasoning, may we not ask: — Does then God condemn 
and justify in like manner? He condemns for demerits, 
for crimes wilfully committed against his law : Does he 
justify, purely on the score of individual merit ? Is Bishop 
MTlvaine prepared for this consequence ? The apostle 
had spoken of the persecutions to which the Christians 
were exposed, and to encourage them to bear these evils 
with fortitude, he had observed that "all things work 
together for good for those who love God, who according 

* In locum. t Ibid - * P. 61. 



MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 81 

to his purpose are called to be saints," and he had declared to 
them that this eternal purpose of God, with his fore-know- 
ledge, directed the call to the Christian faith, the justifica- 
tion, and the final beatitude of his chosen servants. Then 
he cries out: " What shall we then say to these things ? 
If God be for us, who is against us ? He that spared not 
even his own Son : but delivered him up for us all, how 
hath he not also, with him, given us all things?"* It is 
as if he said : ' let the persecutor rage : he can do us no 
real evil :' and then to comfort the trembling Christian, 
who feared his own weakness, he reminds him of the pre- 
cious gifts of grace, whereby his weakness is strengthened. 
What matters, then, that the Christian should be accused 
as an enemy of society and of the human race? God 
defends him from the charge. What condemnation need 
he dread from a human tribunal ?t Christ pleads for him 
at his Father's throne. " Who then" he exclaims, " shall 
separate us from the love of Christ?" and he proceeds to 

* " The apostle now concludes with a triumphant expression of 
his full assurance of the happy result of their present trials. For God 
having given such 3 stupendous proof of his purpose of love towards 
them, as to give his own son to suffer in their stead ; it is impossible 
to think that any thing shall ever wrest them out of his hands: but 
he will support them under all afflictions, defend them against all 
enemies ; and having begun a good work in them, will perform it 
until the day of Jesus Christ." — Young. 

f Rosenmuller observes : " Propius munit Christianos adversus 
criminum judicia, quas ipsis innocentibus intentabantur. Qui tandem 
sunt, qui eos accusare audenf? nempe homunciones. — Si etiam 
damnantur Christiani a malis judicibus, innocentes tamen moriuntur, 
quia Christus pro illis est mortuus." In locum. Macknight says : 
" It is reasonable to think that the apostle had the believing Jews in 
his eye here as well as the Gentiles, because their unbelieving 
brethren accused them of apostacy from the law of Moses." In locum. 



82 MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 

declare in detail that nothing could effect such a separation. 
If any one prefer understanding the accusation as made at 
the tribunal of God, and as regarding the actual sins of 
men, it may be even so explained ; God justifieth his elect 
in pardoning their sins, and giving them all things with 
Christ. There is nothing in the passage that reduces it to 
a bare forensic act : on the contrary the abundance of the 
gifts of grace, whereby we are strengthened, and prepared 
for the severest sufferings, is clearly expressed. 

There are indeed passages of Scripture in which the 
term justify is equivalent to acquit, but it will be generally 
found that in these cases the forensic figure is sustained ; 
and it supposes purity of conscience, and does not express 
the remission of sin. Thus Christ our Lord says ; " every 
idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an 
account of it on the day of judgment. For, by thy 
words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words con- 
demned."* This does not here express forgiveness, but 
acquittal on the ground of innocence. So also the apostle 
writes : " not the hearers of the Lord are just before God ; 
but the doers of the law shall be justified." f In neither 
case is the term referred to the exercise of divine mercy 
towards the repentant sinner. It represents the result of 
a judicial scrutiny into the words and actions of men, such 
as shall take place at the day of judgment. Justice, strict 
and rigorous, must then be exercised, and is most appro- 
priately designated under juridical emblems : but mercy 
will precede, and the sceptre of divine clemency more 
aptly designates its exercise. 

The employment of the term in its forensic acceptation, 
in circumstances where the imagery is forensic, cannot 

* Matt. xil. 36. f Rom - U- l3 - 



MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 83 

limit its meaning when used to express the pardon of the 
sinner. By his crime he has forfeited grace, and incurred 
the penalty of eternal death. Justice dooms him to ever- 
lasting torments. The whole judicial procedure has closed, 
and the execution of the sentence is awaited. The culprit 
has no hope but in the clemency of his Sovereign, and he 
appeals earnestly and confidently for its exercise. When 
by this pardon is designated the justification of the sinner, 
we attach to the term a signification different from the 
forensic use. It is a reprief, a reversal of a sentence 
which was legally pronounced, and not the sentence itself. 
He is justified, though found guilty: he is freed from the 
punishment, though the crime stands confessed : he is 
washed from the stain by the hand of the offended Lord. 
As it would be absurd to press the legal acceptation of the 
term, as if he were guiltless, so it is wrong to apply it 
merely so far as to imply that he should be held guiltless, 
when the accompanying terms express the washing from 
defilement, the raising from death to life, the communica- 
tion of heavenly gifts, by which the soul is made the 
temple of God.* It is not to be wondered that a term 
should be borrowed from forensic use, and employed to 
express a far sublimer act than that which it originally de- 
signated. Mr. Livingston justly remarks : " If it be not 
denied that justification is a work of Almighty grace, in 
behalf of a fallen and condemned creature, it will, we 

* Rosenmliller admits that the term implies in many instances an 
aggregate of blessings : " Interdum vero foxcuova^aL et Svxatovp in V. 
et N. T. ita late dicuntur, ut omnem omnino Numinis favorem, quo 
et poense homini remittuntur, et beneficia omnisque felicitas confe- 
runtur, simul complectatur Is. xlv. 25 et in hac epistola passim. Hinc. 
Gal. iii. 8, 9, Sixcuovd^ai et evhoyna^cu (felicitatem adipisci) per* 
mutantur, quse £i?toyitt ibidem v. 14, descnbitur, In Rom, iii. 20. 



84 MEANING OF THE TERM JUSTIFICATION. 

think, be readily acknowledged, that the import of the term, 
as used in the sacred volume, cannot possibly be illustrated 
by any of the analogies of a court or tribunal of law ; and 
that its scriptural meaning cannot, with the slightest pro- 
priety, be received in what is called a forensic or judicial 
sense."* Images may aid to form an idea of things divine ; 
but faith must consider how imperfect is every external em- 
blem. The judge who acquits a culprit, or the sovereign who 
pardons a convict, but faintly represents God loosing the 
bonds of sin, and restoring the sinner to the privileges of 
a child. The human verdict of acquittal is a public attes- 
tation of legal innocence : but God, the supreme Judge, 
effaces the guilt of the acknowledged culprit, and confers 
anew the purity which had been forfeited. The pardon of 
the sovereign may restore the attainted to civil life and 
privileges ; but the Creator of Spirits quickens the soul 
that was dead in sin, and imparts the privileges of a living 
member of the kingdom of God. The father who clasps 
to his bosom the returning prodigal, and clothes him with 
the choicest garment, and puts on him the ring, and makes 
the hall resound with the music of his joy for the recovery 
of his lost son, and his resuscitation from the dead, gives 
us another touching emblem of divine mercy. But all 
falls far short of the reality. The soul dead to sin, lives 
to God : there is a new creation more stupendous than 
that which first called the material world into being : a 
secret work of divine power is performed in the inmost 
man, the sinner is made just by the sanctifying influence 
of the Holy Spirit. " We are justified, that is we are 
rendered just by the grace of God."t 

* Remarks on the Oxford Theology, p. 79. 

f Aug. 1. ii. de pecc. meritis et remissione c. xxxiii. 



85 



CHAPTER VIII. 



INHERENT JUSTICE, 



Justification is described by the Fathers of Trent as 
81 the transferring of man from the state in which he is 
born, as a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace and 
adoption of the sons of God, through the second Adam, 
Jesus Christ our Saviour."* They gather this from the 
Apostle, who expresses his gratitude for the call to the 
Christian Church in these terms: " Giving thanks to God 
the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of 
the lot of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from 
the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the 
kingdom of the son of his love, in whom we have redemp- 
tion through his blood, the remission of sins. "t The state 
of fallen man is aptly styled a state of darkness, both on 
account of the withdrawal of supernatural light, and of the 
influence and power of the Spirit of darkness, who blinds 
the sons of men, and impels them to evil. The Church is 
the kingdom of the Son of God, in whom the Father is 
well pleased. By grace we are constituted members of 
this body, citizens of this kingdom : we receive through 
his blood redemption, the remission of sins. The children 
of wrath become the children of God : from darkness we 
pass to light ; our sins are forgiven, we receive the appli- 

* Sesis. vi. cap, iv, -j- Col. i. 12. 



86 INHERENT JUSTICE. 

cation of the great atonement, and are thus prepared for 
heaven. 

The remission of sins is the cancelling of them,* the cast- 
ing of them away as into the depth of the sea ;t the wash- 
ing of the soul clean from their defilement,^ and its resto- 
ration to a state of purity. It is impossible that the guilt 
which has in reality been contracted, should not have been 
incurred. Omnipotence itself cannot place the soul in that 
state of innocence which she has forfeited by wilful trans- 
gression. But God can pardon the offence, remit the 
punishment, remove the stain of guilt which has remained 
after the act, and purifying the soul from sinful affection, 
change her, and make her an object of his favor and love. 
We are not able to conceive the nature of the defilement 
which a spiritual substance contracts ; but we feel that the 
prevaricating soul is hateful and defiled before God : and 
though we cannot form an accurate idea of the purification 
which God effects by pardoning sin, yet we are sensible 
that his power can constitute the soul in a state of purity 
resembling that of unstained innocence. The Apostle 
aids us to conceive it, when having specified various crimes 
which exclude from the kingdom of God, he adds : "And 
such some of you were, but you are washed, but you are 
sanctified, but you are justified in the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of our God."§ This wash- 
ing cleanses the soul, and makes her whiter than snow. 
Though her sins may have been red as scarlet, she appears 
white as wool : though they have been red as crimson, 
she is white as snow. The wounds inflicted by sin are 
covered and healed : the corruption is drawn off and dried 

* Acts iii. 19. f Micheas vii. 19. 

4 1 Joan. i. 7,9. § 1 Cor. vi. II. 



INHERENT JUSTfCE. 8? 

up, and health and soundness succeed infirmity and disease. 
The culprit is acquitted, not on the ground of innocence, 
but on the plea of repentance, strengthened by an appeal 
to the mercy of the Judge, whose power reaching the 
inmost soul, purges the guilt which he pardons, and gives 
to repentance the privileges and attributes of innocence. 
This is the sublime idea of justification from sin, present- 
ed to us in the divine Scriptures. It is the remission of 
its guilt, the removal of its deformity, the effacing of its 
stain. It is accompanied by and identified with sanctifi- 
cation, a celestial gift which adorns the soul and renders 
her holy. It is effected by the power of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and of the Divine Spirit; and implies an intimate 
communication of grace, which elevates the soul to a su- 
pernatural state, and fits her for glory hereafter. Protestant 
writers speak of the effects of the imputation of the right- 
eousness of Christ, in terms almost paramount;* and if 
they be not mere words, we cannot see why they should 
contest the Catholic doctrine. Mr. Newman, with the 
Oxford School, unequivocally admits the inherent charac- 
ter of justice : " The gift of righteousness is not an impu- 
tation, but an inward work."t Elsewhere he says : 
— " Scripture expressly declares that righteousness is a 
divine inward gift."± Dr. Pusey says: " Justification 
consists in God's inward presence."§ " It is the habita- 
tion in us of God the Father, and the word Incarnate, 
through the Holy Ghost."|] " Christ is our righteousness 
by dwelling in us by his Spirit, justifies by entering into 

* See Charge of Bp. M'Uvaine. 

f Lectures on Justif. pp. 34, 39. 

$ Ibidem p. 154. 

§ Pusey's Letter to Bp. of Oxford, p. 42. 

|| Ibidem, p. 47. 



88 INHERENT JUSTICE. 

ns, continues to justify by remaining in us."* Mr. New- 
man, indeed, affects to distinguish his view of justification 
from our doctrine ; but it is not difficult to perceive that his 
aim is, here as elsewhere, to shun the imputation of Ro- 
manism, whilst in other terms he admits the truth which 
the Church teaches.t He says expressly that "justifica- 
tion by inherent righteousness," or, as in the second 
edition of his celebrated Tract No. 90, "by a righteous- 
ness within us," is taught in the Homilies.J 

"Justification," say the Fathers of Trent, "is not the 
mere remission of sins, but it is also the sanctification, and 
renewal of the interior man by the voluntary receiving of 
grace and gifts. Whence man of unjust is made just, and 
of an enemy becomes a friend, so as to be heir, according 
to hope, of life everlasting. "§ The texts referred to in 
this passage fully sustain the idea which the Council gives 
of justification. " When the goodness and kindness of God 

* Pusey's Letter to Bp. of Oxford, p. 51. 

f Mr. Livingston seems to have mistaken the views of the Oxford 
divines, whom he represents as maintaining " that sinners are justified 
simply by the communication or infusion of God's grace in the right- 
eousness of faith," p. 83. His own opinion is that " by man's justi- 
fication the substance of faith, which is the gift of God, is implanted 
in his heart; and this according to the word, is accounted to him as 
his righteousness," p. 87. This is one of the views of Luther : 
" faith itself," he says, " is our formal justice.'" In c. ii. ad Gal. Mr. 
Newman expressly says : " This is really and truly our justification, 
not faith, not holiness, not (much less) a mere imputation ; but the 
very presence of Christ." Lectures onJustif. p. 167. " It is not faith, 
not renovation, not obedience, not any thing cognizable by man, but 
a certain divine gift in which all these qualifications are included," 
p. 159. 

* Tract No. 90, § 11, p. 77, American edition. 
§ Sess. vi. cap. vii. 



INHERENT JUSTICE. 89 

our Saviour appeared ; not by the works of justice which 
we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by 
the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy 
Ghost, whom he hath poured forth upon us abundantly 
through Jesus Christ our Saviour : that, being justified by 
his grace, we may be heirs according to hope of life ever- 
lasting."* In addition to the remission of sins, by justifi- 
cation, we are born anew of the Holy Ghost, made chil- 
dren of God, renovated by his divine influence, by the 
communication of himself, " made partakers of the divine 
nature,"! by his presence within us, and made his holy 
temples. Thus are we justified, and sanctified, and made 
heirs of life everlasting, according to hope, which will be 
realized, provided we retain with fidelity the gifts bestowed 
on us. 

This is what has been termed inherent justice, which is 
so styled, not as if it were natural to us, or any thing 
which we possessed as of ourselves ; but because it is 
really given us by God, and implies a real change in the 
condition of our soul. It is the creation of a new heart, 
and the renewal of rectitude of spirit within us. It is a 
transfer from death to life, wherein the mercy and power 
of God are displayed, in the resuscitation of the sinner, 
in his elevation to a supernatural state, and in the com- 
munication of heavenly gifts which enrich and adorn the 
soul. " God, (who is rich in mercy,) for his exceeding 
charity wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead 
in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, (by whose 
grace you are saved,) and hath raised us up together, and 
hath made us sit together in the heavenly places through 
Christ Jesus, that he might show in the ages to come the 

* Titus iii. 4. f 2 Peter i. 4. 

8* 



90 INHERENT JUSTICE. 

abundant riches of his grace in his bounty towards us in 
Christ Jesus."* I cannot persuade myself that those who 
appear horror-stricken at the idea of inherent justice, have 
an accurate conception of its meaning. When they repre- 
sent it as " a doctrine of merits in opposition to grace, of 
works in opposition to faith," when they brand it as "the 
abomination of desolation,"! they surely mistake altogether 
its nature and character. It is loudly proclaimed by us to 
be the gift of God, not merited by any effort of man : we 
have nothing which we have not received. To God es- 
sentially belongs the glory of the gift, the excellence 
whereof serves only to his greater praise. It is his Spirit 
thatdwelleth in us,± and that pours forth his charity in our 
hearts. § He " hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in 
Christ, as he chose us in him before the foundation 
of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in 
charity. Who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of 
children through Jesus Christ unto himself; according to 
the purpose of his will : unto the praise of the glory of 
his grace, in which he hath graced us (made us grateful 
and acceptable) in his beloved Son, in whom we have re- 
demption through his blood, the remission of sins, accord- 
ing to the riches of his grace, which hath super-abounded 
in us. "|| The soul in the state of grace is invested with a 
certain celestial beauty and dignity : the virtues which she 
exercises externally, but faintly reflect the internal splen- 
dor with which the sun of justice invests her: she is the 
spouse of Jesus Christ, whom he has loved, and for whom 
he has delivered himself: she has been washed from the 
stains of sin in his blood. She is in reality, as she is 

* Eph. ii. 4, j- See Bp. Mcllvaine's work, passim. 

* Rom. viii. 11. § Ibidem v. 5. || Eph. i. 3. 



INHERENT JUSTICE. 91 

styled, the beloved child of God. What is there in this 
conception which detracts in the least degree from the 
divine glory, and from the merits of Jesus Christ? Is it 
more glorious for God to cover sins, than to cancel them ; 
to regard the sinner as just, than to make him so in reality? 
Is the merit and efficacy of the price of our ransom less 
apparent when the stains of sin are washed away by the 
current of atoning blood, than when they are supposed to 
be merely passed over in reference to its effusion ? Shall 
we have a less sublime idea of this mystery of mercy, 
when we believe it to have merited for us the regeneration 
and sanctiflcation of our souls, by an intimate operation of 
grace, a new creation, than in regarding it as leaving us in 
our original condition, and changing only our external re- 
lations ? If those who reject the idea of inherent justice 
would ponder well the force of the terms as used in the 
Church, they would, doubtless, find that the divine good- 
ness in the wondrous work of human justification and 
sanctification is more admirably displayed, when con- 
ceived in the communication of actual justice and sanctity, 
than in any way merely extrinsic. We " receive abun- 
dance of grace, and of the gift and of justice," and thus 
we " shall reign in life through Jesus Christ."* This is 
not the justice which the Apostle repudiated, when he 
said : " that I may gain Christ, and may be found in him 
not having my justice, which is of the law, but that which 
is of the faith of Christ Jesus, which is of God, justice in 
faith. "t He rejected justice derived from the Jewish law, 
as is manifest, not that which flows from Christ, and by 
which we are really made just. 

The Jews "not knowing the justice of God, and seek- 

* Rom. v. 17. f Phil. iii. 8. 



92 INHERENT JUSTICE. 

ing to establish their own, have not submitted themselves 
to the justice of God ; for the end of the law is Christ, 
unto justice to every one that belie veth."* Their own 
justice is that which they sought to establish on account 
of their fidelity in ceremonial observances, whilst they 
rejected Christ, whom all the ancient types prefigured, and 
who was the end of the law. Thus they forfeited that 
justice which is the peculiar privilege of believers. How 
unjust is it to apply passages like these, which have an 
obvious reference to the unbelieving Jews, and to legal 
justice, to Catholics who believe in Christ, as the Lord 
and Redeemer of men, who rest on him all hopes of grace 
and salvation, and who claim no legal or natural justice, 
but ascribe wholly to the gift of God, and the merits of 
Christ, that supernatural justice, no otherwise our's, than 
as the alms belongs to the beggar who has received it from 
the bounty of a benefactor ! Bishop M'llvaine says that 
faith " holds out the empty hand of a poor miserable 
worthless beggar."! Catholics cannot object to this com- 
parison ; but does it not detract from Divine goodness to 
say, that the poor beggar receives nothing ? We consider 
the justified man as a beggar clothed with a robe of justice, 
which divine bounty has bestowed on him. There is 
surely no room left for pride, " for who distinguished 
thee ? Or what hast thou that thou hast not received ? 
And if thou hast received; why dost thou glory, as if thou 
hadst not received it !"J 

Those who so vehemently deny that justification is inhe- 
rent, freely acknowledge the inherent character of sanctifi- 
cation. Bishop Beveridge says: "The acts of justifica- 
tion and sanctification are two distinct things ; for the one 

* Rom. x. 3. f p. 511, * 1 Cor. iv. 7. 



INHERENT JUSTICE. 93 

denotes the imputation of righteousness to us ; the other 
denotes the implantation of righteousness in us."* Faber 
complains that " the Church of Rome and Mr. Knox have 
alike confounded together, the righteousness of justification, 
which is perfect, but not inherent, and the righteousness 
of sanctification, which is inherent, but not perfect."! 
This reproach might be equally directed against Luther 
and Melancthon, who were ignorant of this distinction, J 
invented by the ingenuity of subsequent writers to evade 
the plain proofs which Catholics adduced from Scripture 
of the inherent quality of justice. We understand by 
justification, the passing from the death of sin to the life 
of grace, which we believe to be effected by an intimate 
operation of God in the soul of man, and by a communi- 
cation of a divine gift which makes him just and holy. 
This we call sanctification and justification, because we 
find both terms used conjointly by the Apostle St. Paul; 
" but you are sanctified, but you are justified, "§ and be- 
cause we believe that no man is justified without the com- 
munication of sanctifying grace. The justification of the 
sinner is beautifully compared to the shedding of light, by 
which the darkness is dissipated, for God by the same act 
imparts grace and pardons sin.|| Calvin himself acknow- 
ledges that sanctification and justification are constantly 

* On the Article of Justification -Eleventh. 

f Prim. Doct. of Justif. pp. 36 and 23. 

i " Les Lutheriens d' a present conviennent eux-memes que ces 
choses sont confondues par Luther et par Melancthon, (Solid, repet. 
Cone. p. 686 Epit. art. ibid. 1 85) ; et cela dans 1' Apologie, un ouvrage 
si authentique de tout le parti." Bossuet, Histoire des variations, 1. 
iii. § xxxv. 

§ 1 Cor. vi. 11. 

|| St. Thomas, 1. 2se. qu. cxiii. art. vi, 



94 INHERENT JUSTICE. 

united,* and are simultaneously received, and are insepa- 
rable.! Sanctification is admitted to be an intimate opera- 
tion of the Spirit of God ; " sanctification being," as 
Beveridge states, " God's act in us whereby we are made 
righteous in ourselves. "J Why, then, should the idea of 
infused justice be rejected with so much vehemence, whilst 
every argument adduced against it is of equal force against 
sanctification? It is God who "hath given the pledge of 
the Spirit in our hearts :"§ it is the Spirit of God that 
dwelleth in us.|| We are "justified by his grace, "^ when 
renovated by the Holy Ghost. 

Much has been said of the subtilty and vanity of scho- 
lastic distinctions ; and yet the whole modern doctrine of 
justification is made to depend on its distinction from 
sanctification,** which is a subtlety not found in the Scrip- 
tures, and equally unknown to the first Reformers and the 
Schoolmen. " This distinction," Mr. Newman does not 
fear to say, " is not Scriptural. In truth, Scripture 
speaks of but one gift which it sometimes calls renewal, 
sometimes justification, according as it views it, passing 
to and fro, from one to the other, so rapidly, so abruptly as 
to force upon us irresistibly the inference, that they are 
really one."tt " Justification and sanctification are sub- 

* " Neque tamen interea negandum est, quin perpetud conjunct© 
sint ac cotereant duae istse res, sanctificatio et justification Antidot. 
in Cone. Trid. Opus. p. 702. 

f " Sicut non potest discerpi Christus in partes, ita inseparabilia 
esse haec duo, quae simul et conjunctim in ipso percipimus, justitiam 
et sanctificationem." Inst. 1, iii. c. xi. 6. 

t Beveridge's Sermons, No. 74. § 2 Cor. i. 22. 

|| 1 Cor. iii. 16. \ Tit. iii. 7. 

** Oxford Divinity, p. 62. 

ff Newman's Lect. pp. 42, 43, also pp. 120, 129. 



INHERENT JUSTICE. 95 

stantially the same thing — described in Scripture, as parts 
of one gift, properties, qualities, or aspects of one."* 
Yet the same learned writer, wishing to appear to* differ 
from us, whilst in reality he agrees with us, makes dis- 
tinctions which are scarcely intelligible : " If the justifying 
word be attended by the spiritual entrance of Christ into 
the soul, justification is perfectly distinct from renewal, 
with which Romanists identify it."t " The righteousness 
on which we are called righteous, or are justified, that in 
which justification results or consists — this justifying 
principle, though within us, as it must be, if it is to sepa- 
rate us from the world, yet is not of us, or in us, not any 
quality or act of our minds, not faith, not renovation, not 
obedience, not any thing cognizable by man, but a certain 
divine gift, in which all these qualifications are included."^ 
Would it not appear that Mr. Newman, when writing 
these last words, had before him the Council of Trent, 
which says : " in justification itself man receives through 
Jesus Christ on whom he is engrafted, all these things 
simultaneously infused, together with the remission of 
sins, namely faith, hope, and charity ?"§ 

In the Analysis of Burnet's Exposition of the Thirty- 
nine Articles it is observed : " On this point, the differ- 
ence between us seems a debate about words, since what 
they call remission of sins we call justification, and what 
they call justification, we call sanctification."[| Though 
there is some inaccuracy in this statement, it can scarcely 
be doubted that the controversy might be easily terminated, 
if the meaning of the terms were well defined and under- 

* Newman's Lect. pp. 42, 67. f Ibidem, p. 170. 

t Ibidem, p. 159. § Scss. vi. cap. vii de justif. 

|| Art. xi. p. 179. 



96 INHERENT JUSTICE. 

stood. In the passage already quoted, the Council of 
Trent has clearly determined the meaning of justification 
to be not merely the remission of sins, but also the sanc- 
tification and renewal of the interior man. To what pur- 
pose, then, is a groundless controversy excited, and the 
unity of Christian faith destroyed by the invention of dis- 
tinctions not necessary to preserve the integrity of divine 
truth ? Let debates of words cease ; and let us " with one 
mind and mouth glorify God and the Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ."* 

* Rom. xv. 6. 



97 



CHAPTER IX. 



IMPUTED JUSTICE, 



The doctrine of justification by faith only, so generally 
advocated by Protestants, has led most of them to main- 
tain that justification is no more than the accounting or 
reckoning just those who in themselves are sinful and de- 
filed. This has been called imp uted justice; the occasion 
of the epithet being taken from the epistle of St. Paul to 
the Romans, in which he celebrates the faith of Abraham, 
which was reputed or imputed to him unto justice. But 
instead of saying that the faith of the Christian is reputed 
unto justice, they have preferred saying that the righteous- 
ness of Christ is imputed to the believer unto justification; 
thus establishing as a leading principle of faith what an 
eminent divine of the Church of Scotland admits to be 
without any warrant in Scripture.* Mr. Newman styles 
it " an unreal righteousness, and a real corruption. "t 

" Faith," says the Presbyterian Confession, as already 
quoted, " receiving and resting on Christ and his right- 
eousness, is the alone instrument of justification," but it 
observes that God does not justify his elect " by imputing 
faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical 
obedience to their righteousness, but by imputing the obe- 
dience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiv- 
ing and resting on him and his righteousness by faith. "% 

* Macknight Comra, in Rom. iv. 2. 
■J- Lectures on Justification, p. 61. $ Ch. xi. 

9 



98 IMPUTED JUSTICE. 

The Anglican articles are more cautiously couched: " We 
are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith; and not for 
our own works or deservings."* This may account for 
an ambiguity which is discoverable in many of the writings 
of divines of this communion on this subject, and which 
has often led to great discrepancies, that, at bottom, are 
scarcely more than conflicts of words. Faber, relying on 
the Latin version of the Article, in which propter meritum 
andjoer fidem is read, interprets it as meaning, " that in 
the sight of God we are justified meritoriously, on ac- 
count of the sole righteousness of Christ; while through 
faith we are justified no further than instrument ally or 
mediately"*! This view is adopted by Bishop M'llvaine. 
If this be borne in mind, much of what is said against the 
Catholic faith will lose all its point; and where we appear 
most widely to differ, we may be found almost to coin- 
cide. According to the teaching of the Council of Trent, 
Catholics hold that " the meritorious cause of our justifi- 
cation is the most beloved and only begotten Son of God, 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were enemies, 
through the excessive charity wherewith he loved us, by 
his most holy passion on the wood of the cross, merited 
justification for us, and satisfied for us to God the Father."^ 
In its solemn definitions, the Council did not reject the 
imputation of the justice of Christ, which, in a true and 
Catholic sense, it implicitly admitted; but it justly anathe- 
matized whoever should assert that " men are justified by 
the mere imputation of the justice of Christ, or the mere 
forgiveness of sins, to the exclusion of grace and charity, 
which is spread abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, 

* Art. xi. f Faber's Prim. Doc. of Justification. 

\ Sess. vi. cap. vii. de justif. 



IMPUTED JUSTICE. 99 

and is inherent in them: or even that the grace by which 
we are justified is merely the favor of God."* Our ob- 
jections are against this mere imputation,! as we believe 
that the merits of Christ are effectually imputed to us, and 
that real justice is mercifully communicated by God, 
" whereby he makes us just, gifted wherewith we are re- 
newed in the spirit of our mind, and not only are account- 
ed just, but are called such, and are just in reality, receiv- 
ing justice in us, each one according to the measure which 
the Holy Ghost imparts to each according to his good 
pleasure, and according to the peculiar disposition and 
co-operation of each. "J " They whom God's sovereign 
voice pronounces just," Mr. Newman observes, "forth- 
with become just. He declares a fact, and makes it a fact 
by declaring it. He imputes, not a name, but a substan- 
tial word, which, being engrafted in our hearts, is able to 
save our souls. God's word effects what it announces. "§ 
I am inclined to believe that the advocates of imputed 
justice often confound the cause of our justice with its 
nature. The Council of Trent has accurately distin- 
guished various causes, meritorious, instrumental, and 
formal, adopting for greater accuracy the language of the 
schools. But if scholastic distinctions be unacceptable to 
modern ears, we can, without departing in the least degree 
from the doctrine of the Council, admit that the cause of 
our justification is extrinsic, for every grace and merit 

* Sess. vi. Can. xi. de justif. 

j- Bellarmin shows that imputation in a Catholic sense can be ad- 
mitted, but observes, that this mode of speaking is not common in 
the Fathers. 1. ii. de justif. cap. vii. vide et M'llvaine, ch. v. p. 160. 

t Sess. vi. cap. vii. de justif. 

§ Lectures, pp. 86, 87, and the whole of Lecture TIL 



100 IMPUTED JUSTICE. 

flows from the cross.* It is on account of Christ crucified 
that we are deemed righteous, and not for any thing that 
we have of ourselves. " We are justified by Christ 
alone," writes Mr. Newman, " in that He has purchased 
the gift ; by faith alone, in that faith asks for it ; by bap- 
tism alone, for baptism conveys it; and by newness of 
heart alone, for newness of heart is the life of it."t Thus 
far we unite with those who proclaim the mystery of the 
atonement, the virtue of the cross, the imputation of the 
righteousness of Christ, and who set aside all self-right- 
eousness. And surely when we add, that, in virtue of the 
merits of our crucified Redeemer, God really justifies us 
by communicating his sanctifying grace, we detract no- 
thing from the mystery of mercy, which we so loudly 
proclaim. This is not the justice of man, but the gift of 
God, whereby man is made just. 

" Doubtless," writes Mr. Knox, " the Church never 
loses sight of the merits of our blessed Saviour ; but she 
confides in them, not as a substitute for internal grace (in 
justification) but as an infallible security that this grace 
shall be freely communicated to all who candidly ask it." J 
Our belief of the imputation of the merits of Christ to us 
for the remission of our sins, and for sanctification and 
salvation, is not grounded on any doubtful phrase, but on 
the clear testimony of the Apostle, that " Christ Jesus . . . 
of God, is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sancti- 
fication, and redemption, that, as it is written, He that 
glorieth, may glory in the Lord."§ Not only does the 
first aid of divine grace proceed from the virtue of his 

* Mr. Faber is not correct in styling our own righteousness ° the 
procuring cause of our justification." 
f Tract No. 90, § 2. 
+ Knox's Remains, vol. i. p. 517. § 1 Cor. i. 30. 



IMPUTED JUSTICE. 101 

cross, but we need its sanctifying and saving influence at 
every step which we make in our journey to the mountain 
of God.* From it issues the divine virtue which heals 
the maladies of the soul that defy all natural remedies : 
from it proceeds that strength whereby the justified man 
is enabled to advance in the ways of justice. The com- 
mencement, progress, and end of our career to glory must 
be ascribed to it; and when in death we prove victorious 
over the enemy, it is God who makes us triumph in 
Christ Jesus. 

All the texts which establish the mystery of Redemption 
and atonement, prove that the merits of Christ are applied 
to us, since it is only through Him that we can in any way 
be acceptable to the Father. " He is the propitiation for 
our sins," and " there is salvation in no other name." 
What then on this point is the question at issue between 
us and our separated brethren ? It is whether the impu- 
tation be merely extrinsic. It is not whether we are justi- 
fied by our own righteousness, or by the righteousness of 
Christ. God forbid. We have no righteousness but what 
we receive through his merits. The question is whether 
we receive any, or are merely treated and regarded as 
just, without being really made such. 

We are not accustomed to use the terms, " imputed 
righteousness of Christ," because they are not used in 
Scripture, and because others express more strongly our 
entire dependance on the merits of his passion and death. 

* Bishop Mcllvaine strangely misstates the Oxford principle, 
which is on this point Catholic, as if we worked out our salvation, 
with less dependence on Christ crucified, and greater reliance on our 
own righteousness, in proportion as we advance in sanctification. 
Yide Oxford Divinity, p. 80. 

9* 



102 IMPUTED JUSTICE. 

Neither do we ordinarily say, that faith is imputed to 
justice, though this phrase is Scriptural : but we express 
the truth which it conveys, in language that in present cir- 
cumstances is less liable to be misinterpreted. 

The Apostle St. Paul having commended the faith of 
Abraham, which God reputed to justice, observes : " Now 
it is not written only for him, that it was reputed to him 
unto justice, but also for us, to whom it shall be reputed, 
if we believe in him, that raised up Jesus Christ our Lord 
from the dead, who was delivered up for our sins, and rose 
again for our justification."* We may observe with Mack- 
night : " As it is no where said in Scripture, that Christ's 
righteousness was imputed to Abraham, so neither is it 
said any where, that Christ's righteousness is imputed to 
believers."! We may further observe, with Barclay, that 
" that sentence or term, (so frequently in their mouths, and 
so often pressed by them, as the very basis of their hope 
and confidence,) to wit : the imputed righteousness of 
Christ, is not to be found in all the Bible. "J Bloomfield,§ 
acquiesces in the observations of Macknight, and explodes 
this imputed righteousness. Catholics, rejecting this mere 
imputation of the righteousness of Christ, acknowledge 
that "we are justified by his blood ;"|| but this justifica- 
tion is real and effectual, cancelling sin and imparting 
sanctity. The contrast which Bishop Mcllvaine presents 
will not be found to be just : " the issue he says, " lies 
between justification by the righteousness of Christ im- 
puted, and justification by our own righteousness inhe- 
rent. "% Inherent justice is not our own, as it were 
originating with us, or the fruit and reward of any natural 

* Rom. iv. 23. f In Rom. iv. 2. 

+ Barclay's Apology, Prop. viii. § vii. pos. 1. 

§ In loc. || Rom. v. 9. % Oxford Divinity, p. 325. 



IMPUTED JUSTICE. 103 

effort.* It is the justice of Christ, because merited for us 
by his passion and death. To present a proper view of 
the question at issue, it should be narrowed to this point : 
nominal justification by the extrinsic imputation of the 
righteousness of Christ — real justification by the intimate 
application of his merits to our souls. 

" In St. Paul's sense," says Alexander Knox, who is 
regarded by some as the precursor of the Oxford movement, 
" to be justified is not simply to be accounted righteous ; 
but also and in the first instance to be made righteous by 
the implantation of a radical principle of righteousness. "t 
" What I am impressed with," says he elsewhere, " is, 
that our being reckoned righteous before God, always and 
essentially implies a substance of righteousness previously 
implanted in us : and that our Reputative Justification is 
the strict and inseparable result of this previous efficient 
Moral Justification. I mean : that the reckoning us 
righteous indispensably pre-supposes an inward reality of 
righteousness, on which this reckoning is founded." 
Ao-ain : — " How completely this system sweeps away the 
merely forensic system, leaving it neither root nor branch, 
I need not say more to illustrate. "J " God pronounces us 
to be righteous, simply because he has made us so."§ 

To sustain his doctrine of imputative justice, Calvin, || 
relied on the passage of St. Paul to the Romans, wherein 
he cites the beginning of the thirty-first Psalm : " To him 

* Sess. vi. cap. vii. de justif. 

| Treatise on Redemption and Salvation in Remains of Alexander 
Knox, published in 1834, vol. ii. p. 60. 

t Treatise on Justificat. in Remains, vol. i. p. 306, 311, and 315. 

§ British Critic, No. lxvii. p. 89. Review of Remains ,of Alex. 
Knox. 

U Inst. 1. iii. c. xi. 



104 IMPUTED JUSTICE. 

that worketh not, yet believeth in him that justifieth the 
ungodly, his faith is reputed to justice according to the 
purpose of the grace of God. As David also termeth the 
blessedness of a man, to whom God reputeth justice with- 
out works: Blessed are they, whose iniquities are forgiven, 
and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom 
the Lord hath not imputed sin."* In this passage, how- 
ever, no mention is made of the imputation of the right- 
eousness of Christ, which Calvin and his followers assert ; 
but faith is said to be reputed to justice, which they for- 
mally deny.t The object of the Apostle was to prove 
the necessity of divine faith, as the principle of justifica- 
tion, to the exclusion of mere natural works, or ceremonial 
observances, in which he denied any title to be found to 
the gift of justice. " The works," observes Macknight, 
" which the Apostle excludes from having any influence 
in the justification of sinners, are not works proceeding 
from faith, but works of law. "J Justification being pardon 
granted by the divine mercy to the sinner, is not the re- 
ward of works ; but is bestowed gratuitously on the be- 
liever, whose faith is accepted unto justice. He uses the 
testimony of David to show that he had acknowledged 
and celebrated the Divine mercy, by which a mantle is 
cast over sin, and pardon being granted, it ceases to be laid 
to the charge of the sinner. It was foreign to the purpose 
of the Apostle to dwell on the divine gifts which accom- 
pany this pardon, as he only proposed to show the gratui- 
tous nature of the boon, granted to the penitent believer, 
contrary to his demerits. It is in vain for Calvin to allege, 
that the Apostle speaks, not merely of a particular result 

* Rom. v. 5. f Supra. 

$ Essay vi. on Justification, Sect. i e 



IMPUTED JUSTICE. 105 

of justification, but of its entire effects; since the asser- 
tion is gratuitous, and is disproved by other passages, 
wherein the Apostle tells the faithful, " You are washed, 
you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."* 

The other passage which Calvin objects, is from the 
second epistle to the Corinthians : " God indeed was in 
Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to 
them their sins."t This proves that the sacrifice of Christ 
is the means of our reconciliation with God, whereby our 
sins cease to be laid to our charge : but it does not show 
that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us to justifi- 
cation. It points out the victim of atonement ; it desig- 
nates the pardon consequent on its oblation, by a phrase 
which expresses it with reserve ;J but elsewhere the Apos- 
tle assures us, that Christ "hath appeared for the destruc- 
tion of sin, by the sacrifice of himself,"§ and that he " was 
offered once to exhaust the sins of many."|i 

The testimony of St. Bernard is alleged by Bishop 
MTlvaine after Faber : " What can all our righteousness 
be before God? Shall it not, according to the prophet, be 
viewed as a filthy rag ; and if it be strictly judged, shall 
not all our righteousness turn out to be mere unrighteous- 
ness and deficiency ? Yet who shall bring any accusation 
against the elect of God? To me, it is sufficient for all 
righteousness only to have Him propitiated, against whom 
only I have sinned. Every thing which he shall have de- 
creed not to impute to me, is as if it had never been. 
Freedom from all sin is the righteousness of God. The 
mere indulgence of God is the righteousness of man. 

* 1 Cor. vi. 11. f 2 Cor. v. 19. 

* By the figure called Ms wotfc*. § Heb. ix. 26. || Ibidem 28. 



10G IMPUTED JUSTICE. 

Saith the Apostle, if one died for all, then were all dead ; 
meaning that the satisfaction made by one, should be im- 
puted to all, even as one bare the sins of all ; so that there 
should not be found one distinct person who incurred the 
forfeit, and another who made satisfaction ; because truly 
the head and the body are one Christ. The head satisfied 
for its members: Christ for his own bowels. "* These 
sentiments of this illustrious doctor of the church are 
strictly in accordance with Catholic principles, and are by 
no means favourable to the novel views of the Reformers. 
In a spirit of true humility, he acknowledges the imper- 
fection of human works, and flees to divine mercy to sup- 
ply our deficiency. No reference being given by Bishop 
MTlvaine, I am not able to determine with precision the 
place whence the objection is taken, but I believe several 
passages to be united in one, without much regard to their 
coherence. 

In the fifth sermon on the words of the Prophet Isaiah, 
St. Bernard says: " Our lowly justice, whatever it may 
be, is correct, perhaps, but not pure, unless, perchance, we 
believe ourselves better than our fathers, who, with not less 
truth than humility, said, « All our justices are as the rag 
of a menstruous woman.' For how is that justice pure, 
where as yet fault must be found ? In the mean time the 
justice of men may appear correct, provided, however, 
they do not consent to sin, so that it do not reign in their 
mortal body."t St. Bernard had just quoted the text of 
the Psalmist, " Thy justice is as the mountains of God ;" 
and having extolled the infinite sublimity of Divine jus- 

* Quoted by Faber in Prim. Doct. of Just. pp. 155, 158, by Mcll- 
vaine on Oxford Divinity, ch. iv. p. 1 24. 

■j- Serrao V. De Verbis Isaia? Prophetse. Vol. ii. p. 149. 



IMPUTED JUSTICE. 107 

tice, he proceeded to remark that our justice is lowly and 
imperfect, since even our good works are full of imperfec- 
tions : and he applied, as was his custom, the words of 
Scripture to express this sentiment. We are, he said, far 
from the happy state of the first man, who did not experi- 
ence the rebellion of the flesh : still farther from the per- 
fection of the angels, whose justice is far from that of God. 
" They are just nevertheless, but by Him, not before Him : 
by his gift, not in comparison with Him." Thus, whilst ac- 
knowledging human imperfection, and that man cannot be 
justified in comparison with God, he avows true justice in 
man, derived from God, of whose mercy it is the gift. 

Another passage occurs in his first sermon on the An- 
nunciation of the Blessed Virgin, which may also have 
been had in view by Mr. Faber: " Truly what has been 
done, cannot be undone : but when He does not impute it, 
it will be as if it were not. Which the Prophet also con- 
sidering, says: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath 
not imputed sin."* The obvious meaning of St. Bernard 
is, that the pardon of God frees us from sin and its pun- 
ishment, although the fact of our having sinned it is be- 
yond Omnipotence itself to alter. In his sixty-first ser- 
mon on the Canticle of Canticles, he says : "Lord, I will 
remember thy justice alone, for it also is mine ; for thou 
art made to me justice from God."t This harmonizes 
perfectly with the Catholic doctrine, which acknowledges 
no justice in man, unless that which is derived from God, 
and granted in regard to the merits of Christ. 

In his treatise against Abelard, St. Bernard assails the 
error of this rash man, who denied that man had been un- 
der the power of Satan, and that the Son of God had be- 

* In Febto Armunc. Serm. I. § 1. f Serm. LXI. in Cantica, 



108 IMPUTED JUSTICE. 

come man to rescue him from bondage. He insists that 
Christ has paid our ransom : " Man was the debtor : man 
discharged the debt. ' For if one,' says the Apostle, « died 
for all, then all were dead,' meaning that the satisfaction 
of one should be imputed to all, as that one bore the sins 
of all : so that there should not now be found a distinct 
person who incurred the penalty, and another who made 
satisfaction, because the head and the body are one Christ. 
The head therefore satisfied for the members, Christ for 
his own bowels, since, according to the gospel of Paul, 
by which the falsehood of Peter (Melard) is shown, hav- 
ing died for us, he hath quickened us together with him, 
forgiving you all your offences : blotting out the hand- 
writing of the decree that was against us. And he hath 
taken the same out of the way, fastening it to the cross, 
despoiling the principalities and powers."* The whole 
reasoning of the holy doctor is directed to establish the 
mystery of redemption, as the meritorious cause of par- 
don and justice : " Being thus rescued from the power of 
darkness," he adds, " I do not fear that I shall be repelled 
by the Father of lights, being justified gratuitously in his- 
Son. He it is who justifieth, who can condemn? He will 
not condemn the just man, who had compassion on the 
sinner. I have called myself just, but with his justice. 
Which is that? Christ is the end of the law unto justice 
to every believer. Finally he is made to us justice by 
God the Father. Is not that justice mine which is made 
to me ? If the sin transmitted is mine, why is not the jus- 
tice granted me mine likewise ?"t 

It is, indeed, vain to seek in the writings of the Fathers 
of the Church any support for a system which owes its 

* Tract, de erroribus Abailardi, c. vi.. + Ibidem. 



IMPUTED JUSTICE. 109 

origin to the bold spirit of Luther. The venerable men, 
who, in unity of faith, delivered the revealed doctrines, 
proclaimed, as occasion presented itself, the blessings of 
redemption communicated to the soul in justification. St. 
Augustin, so often appealed to by the Reformers on many 
topics, on which nevertheless he is thoroughly Catholic, 
observes : " We read that the believer in Christ is justified 
in him, on account of the secret communication and inspi- 
ration of spiritual grace."* " Who made justice in man, 
unless he who justifieth the impious ? namely, who, by 
his grace, of impious makes him just. "t " What is the 
justice of God and justice of man? It is called the justice 
of God, not whereby God is just, but which God gives to 
man, that man may be just through God. "J " He who 
believes in him, shall not have his own justice which is of 
the law, although the law be good ; but he will fulfil the 
law itself, not by his own justice, but by that which is 
given by God : for charity is the fulfilling of the law. 
And whence is this charity shed abroad in our hearts ? not 
truly from us, but by the Holy Ghost who is given us. ,, § 
I forbear making other quotations which are at hand, 
especially as Chemnitz has given up the Fathers on this 
point,!| and before him Melancthon had stated that he 
found nothing like imputed justice in their writings. ^[ 
Calvin has acknowledged that not even Augustin could be 
followed. For our parts, we prefer to the sentiments of 
these modern teachers, the interpretations of Scripture 
given by these brilliant lights of the ancient Church, who 
gratefully acknowledged the riches of divine goodness in 

* L. 1 de pec. mer. et remiss. f In Ps. cxviii. cone. 26. 

4 Tract, xxvi. in Joan. § Serm. xv. de verbis Apostoli. 

|| In 1 par. exam. Cone. Trid. 1 L. iii. ep. 126. col. 574. 

10 



110 IMPUTED JUSTICE. 

the justification of the sinner, and pointed to the cross as 
the source of those waters of life whereby the soul is en- 
riched. Dr. Pusey has justly described the system of 
justification by the imputation of the justice of Christ, as 
" a spurious system, misapplying the promises of the gos- 
pel, usurping the privileges of baptism which it has not to 
confer, giving peace which it has not to bestow, and going 
counter to the whole tenor of Scripture, that every man 
shall be judged according to his works."* 

* Dr. Pusey's Letter, p. 59, 



Ill 



CHAPTER X. 

CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 

According to Luther, the faith by which we are justified 
implies a certainty of our justification. Melancthon 
adopted this maxim ; * which Calvin extended even to our 
election to glory, maintaining that the elect firmly believe 
that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them unto 
salvation, t The synod of Dort gave its full sanction to 
this tenet; which may be considered as common to 
Protestants, although many do not extend it to election. 
Bull, the learned Anglican bishop, avows its general preva- 
lence among the divines of the reformed churches, and 
says : " This doctrine has been for many years the veriest 
shame and disgrace of the Reformed Church." J The 
Presbyterian confession of faith seems to regard it as the 
perfection of faith, to which many attain : § and calls it 
"an infallible assurance of faith, founded upon the divine 
truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of 
those graces unto which these promises are made, the tes- 
timony of the spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits 
that we are the children of God." || 

In the passage of St. Paul to which reference is made 
in the Presbyterian confession of faith, it is said : " the 

* Apol. Conf. Aug. iv. § 40, et xii. <§ 20. " Hanc certitudinem 
fidei nos docemus requiri in Evangelic" 
j- Inst. 1. Hi. c. ii. § 16. 
$ Harmonia Apostolica Dissert, prior, c. iv. § 6. 

§ ch. xiv. 3. II ch. xviii. 2. 



112 CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 

■» 

Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are 
the sons of God." * No mention is made of the principle 
of justification ; and the testimony of the Spirit may be aptly 
understood to regard the general dignity of all christians, 
who by baptism are the children of God. The Apostle 
meant to mark the difference between the state of the Jews, 
who were as bond-slaves, under the influence of a law of 
terror, — and of the members of Christ, who are adopted 
children, partaking of the Spirit of Christ and addressing 
God as their Father: " You have not received," he says, 
" the spirit of bondage in fear : but you have received the 
spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry : Abba, 
(Father)."! He reminded the Romans of their Christian 
dignity, that they might prove themselves the true sons of 
God by the purity of their lives, shunning the vices of the 
flesh : " for whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they 
are the sons of God." J The testimony of the Divine 
Spirit concurs with the interior conviction of faith, § to as- 
sure us of this elevated state peculiar to the Christian dis- 
pensation. 

If any one choose to explain the text of the interior testi- 
mony of the Holy Ghost, given to each justified man of 
his own justification, his conscience at the same time 
bearing witness to him, I care not to enter into a critical 
examination of the correctness of this explanation : but be- 
fore the certainty of faith is established thereon, it is neces- 
sary that each justified man infallibly discern this testi- 
mony of the Holy Ghost, from the illusions of self love. 
If there be no such infallible criterion — if the whisperings 
of self love may be easily mistaken for the inspirations of 

* Rom. viii. 16. f Ibidem 15. * Ibidem 14. 



CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 113 

the Holy Ghost — it is vain to assert the infallible certainty 
of our justification. Calvin admits that " the reprobate 
are sometimes affected in a manner almost similar to the 
elect, so that not even in their own judgment do they differ 
in any respectfrom the elect." * Whilst so great similarity 
of feeling and consciousness exists, it is clear that the pre- 
sumed certainty is oftentimes, at least, a mere illusion. 

There is, however, a testimony of the spirit which gives 
comfort and confidence, without nourishing pride. " If 
our hearts," says St. John, " do not reprehend us, we 
have confidence towards God."t If we feel charity for 
our brethren, and even for our enemies, in circumstances 
calculated to rouse ever^ violent feeling, we have a strong 
indication that we have passed from death to life. " We 
know that we have passed from death to life, because we 
love the brethren." J In many ways does the Holy Ghost 
console the just, and give them, according to his good 
pleasure, such assurance of his presence within them as 
removes excessive solicitude and painful doubt, although 
in particular instances he withholds these manifestations, 
for the greater exercise of patience and humility. For the 
most part the confidence of the just is tempered with fear 
lest something may be wanting on their part, and with an 
awe of the divine judgments which are unsearchable to 
man. We are warned by the Holy Ghost not to indulge 
excessive security concerning the forgiveness of sin : " Be 
not without fear about sin forgiven. "§ 

There is no passage of Scripture which assures us that 
whosoever firmly believes the imputation of the righteous- 
ness of Christ simultaneously enjoys it, much less that 

* Inst. 1. iii. c. ii. § 11. f 1 John iii. 21. 

t Ibidem 14. § Eccl. v. 5. 

10* 



114 CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 

assures an individual that he enjoys it. It is written : " He 
that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of 
God in himself:"* but the belief there spoken of is in the 
teaching of God, and is grounded on the testimony of God 
regarding the divinity of his Son, as is manifest from what 
follows : " He that believeth not the Son, maketh him a 
liar : because he believeth not in the testimony which God 
hath testified of his Son." t The believing that Christ's 
righteousness is actually imputed to one's self, and that the 
individual believer stands in the place of Christ, is an effort 
of imagination, not a Scriptural truth. The certainty is 
assumed, but does not exist ; for no one can know, unless 
God vouchsafe an extraordinary revelation, that his faith 
is such as qualifies him for this imputation ; and to imagine 
that the imputation is certain, without reference to the 
nature and qualities of the faith, is to blaspheme the mys- 
tery of Redemption, and set aside the purity and sanctity 
of the Gospel. This involved Luther in the most manifest 
contradiction ; for whilst he asserted that the believer was 
as certain of his justification, as he was of the Incarnation 
of Christ, he denied that he could be certain of his contri- 
tion, without which, nevertheless, no pardon can be ob- 
tained. J He also asserted that no one can be certain that 
his works are not vitiated by pride and self-love, and are 
not, therefore, deadly sins. How then can he be certain 
that he is justified 1 

The certainty of one's own justification is not only void 
of foundation in Scripture, but at variance with the un- 
doubted maxims of Christian morality. No one can know 
with absolute certainty whether his sorrow for sin be super 

* 1 John, v. 10. t Ibidem. 

$ See Bossuet, Histoire des variations, 1. 1. § xv. 



CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 115 

natural and universal, sovereign and efficacious. He may- 
feel regret for having committed it, but the sources of feeling 
and the motives oftentimes are not discernible : yet if he 
do not detest it as the offence of God for motives proposed 
by faith, the deepest sorrow will not avail to his justifica- 
tion. The culprit in his dungeon sorrowing over his crime, 
oftentimes laments only its discovery and punishment, with- 
out hating its sinfulness. Sometimes supernatural motives 
seem to be the sources of sorrow, yet their influence may 
not be such as to detach the heart from some loved object. 
Ambition, avarice, hatred, not unfrequently conceal their 
turpitude from their victim, and whilst many sins are de- 
plored, the favorite vice escapes detection. The merchant 
detests pride and prodigality, but cannot see any thing 
criminal in his mode of dealing, which may, nevertheless, 
be in opposition to the strict laws of justice. Moreover 
sin should be detested above all other evils, because 
God should be loved above all : yet who may not doubt 
whether his sorrow be sovereign ? whether he hates sin 
more than he dreads poverty or disgrace ? Sorrow should 
be efficacious, that is, should effectually withdraw man 
from sin. How often may we not fear that our feeling is 
but a transient sense of shame, or pain, soon to be follow- 
ed by relapse into our sins ? It must, then, be rash and 
presumptuous to assert that we are certainly justified, 
without considering the many defects that may vitiate our 
contrition. The same may be said in regard to the mo- 
tives that may influence us unconsciously in actions appa- 
rently virtuous. Although uncertainty must not be ex- 
tended in this respect so far as Luther maintained, we 
have always reason to distrust the perfect purity of our 
motives, and to watch over ourselves, lest we should 



116 CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 

grievously offend, while, perhaps, we imagine that we are 
rendering service to God. 

It is revolting to our sense of Christian humility to 
hear men say, I know, I feel, that my sins are forgiven 
me. We have no instance in Scripture of similar con- 
version ; we have no text to warrant the absolute assertion 
of one's own justification. The assurance of pardon al- 
ways came from without. Nathan gave to David, on his 
acknowledging his sin, the assurance that the Lord had 
taken away his sin.* Jesus consoled the paralytic who lay 
dejected on his bed of suffering, and the penitent woman, 
who wept at his feet, and the dying thief, none of whom 
appears to have had the previous conviction of personal 
justification. 

Bishop M'llvaine asks : " Now in what way is a poor 
sinner, working out his salvation, ever to know whether 
he has peace with God, and may rejoice in hope or not?"t 
The answer is easy : When he has wept for his sins, and 
has received the consoling assurance of pardon from the 
minister of God : when he has forsaken the paths of sin, 
and its occasions ; when he is conscious to himself of no 
wilful violation of the divine law : and when he studies 
faithfully to fulfil all the duties of his state, and to repair, 
as far as in him lies, the consequences of his past trans- 
gressions. Then may he humbly hope to be acceptable 
to God, although his joy must always be tempered with 
holy fear, and he must cast himself without reserve on the 
indulgence and mercy of his heavenly Father. St. Tho- 
mas having observed that man cannot know with certainty 
that he is in grace, subjoined that he could have what he 
terms a conjectural knowledge. "In this way one may 

* 3 Kings'xih 13. f Oxford Divinity, p. 88. 



CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 117 

know that he is in grace, inasmuch as he perceives that he 
is delighted in God, and that he despises worldly things, 
and inasmuch as he is not conscious to himself of any 
mortal sin. This knowledge, however, is imperfect. 
Wherefore the Apostle says, 1 Cor. iv. ' I am not conscious 
to myself of any thing, yet am I not hereby justified:' for, 
as it is said in Psalm xviii. : ' Who understandeth sins ? 
From my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord."'* All occa- 
sion for excessive anxiety is removed, when sin and its 
occasions are forsaken, and voluntary prevarication is avoid- 
ed. It is not, as Bishop M'llvaine alleges, by count- 
ing his penances, measuring his pilgrimages, or weighing 
his gifts, that he is to persuade himself of his own right- 
eousness ; but if he present the sacrifice of a contrite and 
humble heart, he may entertain the hope that he may be 
made worthy to partake of the atonement offered for sin 
on Calvary. All his hopes centre in the cross, the symbol 
whereof is constantly presented to his view, to remind 
him that his Saviour was wounded for our sins, and bruised 
for our iniquities, and that by his stripes we are healed. If 
any one ask greater certainty, we must reply with St. 
Gregory the Great, that the desire is useless: M Since you 
should not be secure of the remission of your sins, unless 
at the end of life, when you can no longer weep for them. 
Until that time come, you should always fear, you should 
always dread sin, and with daily tears endeavour to wash 
it away."t Whoever derides the external expressions of 
the penitent's sorrow, should remember that the publican, 
striking his breast, and imploring mercy, found acceptance, 
and that the conduct of the weeping penitent was vindi- 
cated and sanctioned by her Lord and Master. 

* 1. 2^ qu. CXIL art. V. Resp. 

f L. VI. ep. xxii. ad Gregoriara Augusts cubiculariam. 



118 CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 

Justification being uncertain, it is clear that we cannot 
be certain of our election: yet according to Calvin, we 
are bound to believe, without any hesitation, that we are 
individually chosen by God, and foreordained to glory.* 
We must rest on Christ, and without regard to past or 
future faults, persuade ourselves firmly that nothing shall 
separate us from Christ. The certainty which a believer 
has of his salvation is altogether beyond question, and 
although he may fall into some transgressions, he can 
never forfeit his birthright in Christ, and his eternal inhe- 
ritance. The sins into which passion may betray him, 
may deprive him for a time of the light of the counte- 
nance of his heavenly Father ; but they cannot separate 
him from Him, since from all eternity God loves his elect 
in Christ. This idea of justifying faith was adopted by 
the famous Council of Dort, as the genuine Calvinistic 
sentiment, and is retained in the Presbyterian Confession 
to this day.t There is, nevertheless, no passage of Scrip- 
ture that warrants any individual in believing that he has 
been chosen by God, by a free and unchangeable counsel 
of the divine will, to everlasting glory. Even were the 
lot of the saints thus determined, independently of any act 
of their will co-operating with grace, the individuals chosen 
cannot know the secret counsel of God, unless by a spe- 
cial revelation. " Who hath known the mind of the Lord, 
or who hath been his counsellor?"! In the effort of mind* 
whereby an individual persuades himself that he is one of 
the elect of God, he proceeds on a gratuitous assumption, 
utterly destitute of any Scriptural foundation. He may 
conceive himself authorised by certain texts to believe that 
God destined the elect to glory, and that Christ died for 

* Vide Calvin Instit. I, iii. c. ii. § 1 6. f Ch. xi. 5. * Rom. xi. 34. 



CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 119 

them, and he may hope that he is one of them ; but unless 
God himself, in a clear and certain manner, declare it, he 
cannot hold with firmness his own election. They who 
hold that God wishes all men to be saved, and that Christ 
died for all, can say without the least doubt in the lan- 
guage of the Apostle : " 1 live in the faith of the Son of 
God, who loved me, and delivered himself for me."* But 
if any limit be put to the divine will of human salvation, 
if the blood shed on Calvary be restricted in its applica- 
tion to a privileged number, no man can say without pre- 
sumption, God wishes me to be saved : Christ died for me. 
To cherish this absolute conviction of our election to 
glory, whilst we yield to moral disorders, is to add to the 
corruption of the heart an outrage on the Divine Majesty. 
Presumption is too mild a term for this daring flight of 
human fancy. It is madness, impiety, blasphemy. How 
different were the sentiments and feelings of the Apostle : 
" O ! the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the 
knowledge of God! how incomprehensible are his judg- 
ments, and how unsearchable his ways !"t He did not fail 
to remind the faithful of the humility and fear in which 
they should walk before God : " Thou standest by faith : 
be not high-minded, but fear."J " He that thinketh him- 
self to stand, let him take heed lest he fall."§ " With 
fear and trembling work out your salvation. "|j 

It must be evident to every reflecting mind, that the ab- 
solute persuasion of one's own election to glory, is in the 
highest degree dangerous to the purity of Christian morals, 
as it is utterly subversive of Christian humility. It is ad- 
mitted that such conviction cannot be cherished by those 

* Gal. ii. 20. . f Rom. xi. 33. \ Ibidem v. 20. 

§ 1 Cor. x. 12. J Philip, ii. 12. 



120 CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 

who voluntarily and grievously transgress : yet when it is 
declared that no man can observe the commandments of 
God, and that every man sins daily in thought word and 
deed, and that every sin is deadly, and that even the elect 
may fall into grievous sins, " although they can never fall 
from the state of justification," we easily perceive how 
men may flatter themselves in sin, since they thereby only 
"fall under God's fatherly displeasure."* Besides it is 
difficult to cherish humility where there is an absolute assu- 
rance of one's own salvation. On the contrary, pride will 
frequently manifest itself in the contempt of such as do not 
appear to the elect objects of the same divine choice. 

St. Augustin has accurately expressed the certainty 
which the saints have of the reward of perseverance, and 
the doubt wherein they are left, whether they shall perse- 
vere : "Although the saints are certain of the reward of 
their perseverance, they are nevertheless uncertain concern- 
ing their perseverance. For what man knows whether he 
shall persevere to the end in the performance and increase 
of justice, unless he be made certain by some revelation 
from Him, who, by a just and secret judgment, does not 
impart the knowledge of this to all, but deceives no one ?" t 

Most of the texts brought forward to maintain the knowl- 
edge which each believer has of his election to eternal 
glory, are to be understood of the election of the members 
of the Church to the faith. In the commencement of his 
first letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle thus speaks 
of the knowledge which he had of the extraordinary cir- 
cumstances attending their call to the faith : " Knowing, 
brethren beloved of God, your election : for our Gospel 

* Presbyterian Confession, ch. xi. 5. 
f L. xi. de civ. Dei c: xii. 



CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 121 

hath not been unto you in word only, but in power also, 
and in the Holy Ghost, and in much fulness." * Bloom- 
field observes on this text : " I entirely agree with Dr. A. 
Clarke that the election here spoken of is that treated of by 
the Apostle at large in the Epistles to the Romans, Gala- 
tians, and Ephesians ; and that it is no irrespective, un- 
conditional, eternal, and personal election to everlasting 
glory, that is meant by the Apostle ; but temporal election, 
the being called and chosen, as a body out of the world by 
the Word and Spirit." t 

The Apostle says : "lam sure that neither death, nor 
life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor 
depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us 
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." J 
This is the strong expression of his confidence. The 
Greek term implies no more : Ttins^a fiai t and the Protestant 
version expresses no more : " 1 am persuaded." The 
Apostle might well entertain the strongest conviction, short 
of the certainty of divine faith, that he would persevere. 
The graces received were so many pledges of special 
mercy : and the communications made to him in his 
heavenly raptures might even warrant absolute certainty. 
Of others he could entertain merely hope. He knew in- 
deed that nothing could separate them from God, as long 
as their will remained subject to him ; and he could there- 
fore say in regard to the servants of God that neither the 
malice of the infernal spirits, nor the cruelty of men, could 
separate them from God : but he knew also the frailty and 
inconstancy of the human will, and used no expression 

* 1 Thess. i. 4. \ In locum. J Rom. viii. 38. 

11 



122 CERTAINTY OF JUSTIFICATION. 

that can justify any individual in calculating with certainty 
on his own perseverance. 

We are, then, warranted in rejecting the certainty of 
personal justification and election, because it is destitute of 
foundation in Scripture, tends to foster pride, and is dan- 
gerous to morals. It has pleased God to leave us in uncer- 
tainty, that we may walk in humble dependence on his 
goodness, neither depressed by excessive fear, nor elated 
by absolute confidence. " There are just men and wise 
men, and their works are in the hands of God; and yet 
man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred, 
but all things are kept uncertain for the time to come."* 
The most holy men, conscious to themselves of no wilful 
transgression, must with trembling awe await the manifes- 
tation of God's judgment, and in the mean time chastise 
the body, and bring it into subjection lest they become 
reprobate. Vigilance and prayer must be their great safe- 
guards ; they are daily to sue for pardon of the offences 
into which they daily fall, and of their past transgres- 
sions, the pardon whereof is only secured by perseverance 
in sentiments of deep contrition. 

* Eccl. ix. 1. 



123 



CHAPTER XT. 

BAPTISM. INSTRUMENTAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 

The Council of Trent, carefully distinguishing between 
the dispositions, or preparation of mind, required in the 
adult for justification, and the means whereby this gift is 
imparted, says : " The instrumental cause of justification 
is the Sacrament of Baptism, which is the Sacrament of 
faith, without which (faith) no one was ever justified."* 
God is acknowledged to be the author of our justification : 
Jesus Christ merited it for us by his death on the cross : 
faith is indispensable for its reception in the adult, enjoying 
the use of reason, for no one at any time or under any dis- 
pensation was ever justified without it, since " without 
faith it is impossible to please God."t Baptism is the 
instrument or means whereby God applies to the believer 
the benefit of the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

The Sacrament of Baptism is called the Sacrament of 
faith, because it is administered to the adult applicant, on 
his profession of faith in the revelation of God : nor is it 
possible to impart to him its benefits, whilst he refuses to 
captivate his understanding unto the obedience of Christ. 
Never has any one been justified without faith. Abel, 
Noe, Abraham, David, attained to justice by the belief of 
the revelation of God proposed to them. They contem- 
plated the future redemption, and longed to witness it, and 
exulted in its contemplation. In principle they embraced 
all that we adore as fulfilled by our divine Redeemer, and 

• Sess. vi. cap. vii. \ Heb. xi. C 



124 . BAPTISM. 

they partook of his justice and were sanctified by his 
merits. The rites which they were commanded to observe, 
were in themselves needy and helpless elements; — circum- 
cision to mark each male descendant of Abraham as an 
heir of the covenant : aspersions, ablutions, oblations, 
sacrifices, and other types of a future and better dispensa- 
tion. But faith in the truth of God and in his promises ; 
hope, and obedience, with love, made the ancients par- 
takers by anticipation of the new covenant. Our Sacra- 
ments, the institutions of Jesus Christ, impart what they 
signify, and are channels through which grace flows to 
purify and enrich our hearts. 

Following up the principle of justification by faith only, 
Bishop Mcllvaine, in common with most Protestants, 
rejects the instrumental efficacy of Baptism, and maintains 
that the Sacrament necessarily supposes the previous justi- 
fication of the adult receiver, by faith. "As true repen- 
tance and faith," he writes, " are required for adult Bap- 
tism, and where there is true repentance towards God, there 
must be true love, it follows that the church considers that 
whosoever is truly prepared for adult Baptism is already 
born of God, and already justified." * This of course, 
reduces Baptism to a mere external rite, or " an out- 
ward exhibition of what had already taken place in- 
wardly,"! the justice already imputed by faith, and con- 
ferring membership in the Church visible. In regard to 
infants, it becomes in this theory " an outwar J admission to 
privileges which may afterwards become inward." J Dr. 
Pusey, on the contrary, fully admits Baptism to be a 
divinely ordained instrument of grace whereby we are born 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 375. f Tract fi7 on Baptism, p. 70. 

$ Ibidem, p. 40, note. 



BAPTISM. 125 

anew to God. " Baptism is not a mere initiatory or sig- 
nificant rite, but is an appointed means for conveying 
the Holy Spirit."* " This is our new birth, an actual birth 
of God, of water, and the Spirit, as we were actually born 
of our natural parents; herein then also are we justified, 
or both accounted and made righteous, since we are made 
members of Him who is alone righteous ; freed from past 
sin, whether original or actual ; have a new principle of 
life imparted to us, since having been made members of 
Christ, we have a portion of his life, or of Him who is our 
life ; herein we have also the hope of the resurrection and 
of immortality, because we have been made partakers of 
his resurrection, have risen again with Him." t " Bap- 
tism," he says elsewhere, " is the instrument whereby 
God communicated to us the remission of sins, justification, 
holiness, life, communion with the Son and the Father 
through the Spirit." { He avows that such has ever been 
the belief of the whole Church : * 'Every vestige of Christi- 
anity," he says, " which God has preserved to us from 
the ancient Church, that explains the words, « Except a 
man be born of water and the Spirit,' assumes that they 
declare that in Baptism we are born from above, through 
our Saviour's gift : every passage which speaks of the 
privileges of Baptism at all, implies the same ; their whole 
system of theology presupposes it : every branch of the 
whole Church, independent as they may have been in their 
origin, ingraft upon their Baptismal Liturgies, (and in this 
sense) our Lord's words, ' Except a man be born of water 
and the spirit.' "§ 

The pardon of sins and grace of the Holy Ghost are 
expressly promised to those who receive baptism with 

* Tract 67 on Baptism, p. 112. f Ibidem, p. 24. 

± Ibidem, p. 140. § Ibidem, p. 38. 

11* 



126 BAPTISM. 

faith and compunction of heart,* and these blessings are 
spoken of as the effects of the sacrament. When, on 
hearing Peter's discourse, the Jews " had compunction in 
their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the Apos- 
tles: What shall we do men brethren? Peter said to 
them, Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in 
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins : 
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, "t The 
address of Ananias to Saul gives us the same idea of an 
ablution by which sins are washed away: "Now why 
tarriest thou ; Rise up and be baptized, and wash away 
thy sins, invoking his name."! St. Paul, himself, con- 
stantly speaks to the same effect: "Christ," he says, 
"loved the Church, and delivered himself up for it, that 
he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in 
the word of life. "§ " Not by the works of justice which 
we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by 
the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy 
Ghost."|| All these texts present baptism as the instrument 
and means whereby justification, and regeneration, and re- 
novation is perfected. The same is deduced from the 
words of our Lord : " Unless a man be born again of water 
and the Holy Ghost he cannot enter into the kingdom of 

* Bishop M'llvaine says, p. 2 1 6, note, that compunction, not contri- 
tion, is required by us. We use both terms to signify true sorrow 
of heart for having offended God. 

f Acts, ii. 37. 

$ lb. xxii. 16., irtixaTisaafxsvo^ to ovopa fov Kvptov : literally: 
11 having invoked the name of the Lord." The washing away of sins 
is by the force of the term and the grammatical construction of the 
sentence referred to baptism. 

§ Eph. v. 25. || Tit. iii. 5. 



BAPTISM. 127 

God."* This supposes the divine institution of this sacra- 
ment, and a divinely imparted virtue. The external ablu- 
tion, of itself, could not affect the soul, but would only 
serve to put away the defilements of the flesh. Its virtue 
and efficacy arises from its being the appointed means of 
grace, and from the merits of the Redeemer, which it ap- 
plies to the soul, and from the power of the holy Trinity, 
which is invoked. It cannot purify the unbeliever, whose 
pride raises itself up against the knowledge of God : it 
cannot sanctify the obstinate sinner, whose heart rebels 
against grace : but, for the believer, it is the means of sal- 
vation : u He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be 
saved :"t for the penitent it serves for the remission of sins : 
" Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the 
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. "J 
The infant, or the adult, who has never enjoyed the use of 
reason, as he is incapable of believing, or conceiving any 
other disposition, so can he oppose no obstacle to the puri- 
fying and sanctifying virtue of the sacrament, and accord- 
ingly he is washed clean from the hereditary defilement, 
and by the regenerating power he is made a child of God, 
with the right to enter into the everlasting kingdom. Thus 
the ancient fathers of the Church spoke of baptism as the 
instrument of regeneration and sanctification, St. Justin§ 
and St. Iren?eus|| expressly say that we are regenerated by 
it : and Tertullian exclaims : M Blessed sacrament of water, 
wherein being washed from the sins of our former blind- 
ness, we are liberated unto life everlasting ! .... Is it not 
wonderful that death should be destroyed by the laver ? 
Nay it is the more credible for its wonderful nature, which 

* John iii. 5. f Mark xvi. 16. * Acts ii. 38. 

§ Apol. 1, n. 61. |J L. iii. adv. haer. c. xix. 



128 BAPTISM. 

is the occasion of unbelief. What should we expect the 
works of God to be, unless surpassing all admiration ?"* 
St Cyprian writes: "Because God has said: 'Be ye 
holy, since I am holy : we ask and implore that we who 
have been sanctified in baptism may persevere in what we 
have begun to be."t " To name individuals, in this univer- 
sal consent," says Dr. Pusey, writing on this subject, " is 
to disguise the extent of the evidence ; it is to point to a 
few single luminaries in the nightly sky, when the whole 
heavens are lighted and thickly set with the stars which 
He has ordained. "J 

Dr. Pusey asks : " Does the Sacrament of Baptism ac- 
quire no awfulness of value from being commanded by our 
ascending Lord, just as He was establishing His everlast- 
ing kingdom upon earth, and about to assume His heavenly 
kingdom above all things ? l So then after the Lord had 
spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and 
sat on the right hand of God !' Rather every thing here 
invests it with solemnity ; His foundation of His Church 
thereon ; His bestowing it as His parting gift; His annex- 
ing to it our salvation ; His binding up with it, and impart- 
ing to us by it, and reserving for this moment at which to 
impart it, the full and distinct revelation of the doctrine of 
the Ever Blessed Trinity ; His commanding this act alone 
in the whole Christian life to be done in Their Name ; His 
promise that Their Name shall herein be efficacious. In 
St. Chrysostom's words, ' the holy angels stand by, doing 
nothing, they only look on what is done ; but the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, effect all. Let us then obey 
the declaration of God, for this is more credible than sight ; 

* Lib. de Baptismo. f Lib. de Orat. Dominica. 

t Tract on Baptism, p. 30, American edit, 



BAPTISM. 129 

for sight is, yea and oftentimes, deceived ; but that can 
never fail. Obey we then it.' "* In reference to the 
worthiness of the baptizer, he says : " In one sense, indeed, 
the Apostles, or their successors, baptize, because He gave 
them the commission < to baptize all nations ;' but then also 
He who promised, ' Lo, I am with you always, even to 
the end of the world,' accompanies their act, and is in 
reality and truth, the only Baptizer. It is His Baptism, 
not theirs ; they baptize as the servants, He, as the Lord ; 
they with water, He ' with the Holy Ghost, and with fire ;' 
they touch the body, He applies it to the soul ; they visi- 
bly, He invisibly ; they in obedience to Him, He accepts 
the obedience of His Church, and ' cleanseth ' each new 
member, which she presents unto Him, 4 with the washing 
of water by the word.' It is He who cleanseth. "t 

The primary effect of baptism is to cancel original sin, 
the water washing away this hereditary stain, and the 
Holy Ghost giving us a new birth in Christ. " If any 
one," says the Council of Trent, " deny that by the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is conferred in Baptism, 
the guilt of original sin is remitted, or even assert that all what 
has the real and proper nature of sin is not taken away : 
but say that it is only cut away, or not imputed, let him 
be anathema. For God hates nothing in those who are born 
anew ; since there is no condemnation to such as are truly 
buried with Christ by Baptism unto death, who walk not 
according to the flesh, but putting off the old man, and 
putting on the new, who was created according to God, 
have been made innocent, spotless, pure, guiltless, and be- 
loved of God, heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs of Christ, 
so that nothing whatsoever withholds them from entering 

* Tract G7, on Baptism, p. 71. f lb. p. 155. 



130 BAPTISM. 

into heaven. But this holy Synod confesses and knows 
that concupiscence, or lust, remains in baptized persons, 
which being left for exercise, cannot hurt those who do 
not consent, but manfully resist through the grace of Christ 
Jesus : on the contrary whosoever shall strive lawfully for 
the mastery shall be crowned. This concupiscence, which 
the Apostle sometimes styles sin, the holy Synod declares, 
has never been understood by the Catholic Church to be 
called sin, as if it were truly and strictly sin in those who 
are born anew, but because it proceeds from sift, and in- 
clines us to sin. And if any one hold the contrary senti- 
ment, let him be anathema. " # The Council of Trent di- 
rected these anathemas against the Reformers, who placed 
original sin in concupiscence, and as it is not taken away 
by baptism, maintained that it only ceases to be imputed to 
believers. 

The Church of England, defining original sin as "the fault 
and corruption of the nature of every man that is naturally 
engendered," states that " this infection of nature doth re- 
main, yea in them that are regenerated, whereby the lust 
of the flesh is not subject to the law of God. And although 
there is no condemnation for them that believe and are 
baptized, yet the Apostle doth confess that concupiscence 
and lust hath of itself the nature of sin."t Thus the effi- 
cacy of baptism to cancel original sin is plainly denied, and 
the baptized person is acknowledged to continue in the 
state of deadly sin, although this be not imputed. " This 
concupiscence, therefore," observes Bishop MTlvaine, 
"in the judgment of our Church, is a mortal sin, as all 
sins truly are. "J Mr. Newman evidently recedes from 

* Cone. Trid. Sess. v. Deer, de pecc. orig. 

f Art. ix. t Oxford Divinity, p. 258. 



BAPTISM. 131 

this opinion, and appears to embrace the sentiment of those 
Catholic Divines, who hold that original sin is nothing 
more than the privation of original justice, the stripping of 
human nature of the supernatural gifts wherewith it was 
originally endowed by the free gift of God. " Whereas," 
he remarks, " we have gained under the Gospel what we 
lost in Adam, and justification is a reversing of. our forfeit- 
ure, and a robe of righteousness is what Christ gives, per- 
chance a robe is what Adam lost. If so, what is told us 
of what he lost, will explain what it is we gain. Now the 
peculiar gift which Adam lost certainly seems to have been 
a supernatural clothing — Christ clothes us in God's sight 
with something over and above nature, which Adam for- 
feited."* He also labours to reconcile the Article of the 
Church of England regarding justification by faith only, 
with the power of Baptism, as the external instrument of 
justification ; " an inward instrument in no way interfering 
with an outward instrument, Baptism may be the hand of 
the giver, and faith the hand of the receiver."! " Our ac- 
tual descent from Adam," writes Dr. Pusey, " is cut off 
by this our new lineage in Christ; our birth in Adam is 
corrected and replaced by our birth of God in Christ ; as 
we are really sons of man by physical birth, so are we as 
really and as actually ' sons of God' by spiritual birth ; 
sons of man, by being born of Adam, sons of God by 
being members of Him who is the son of God. "J 

The texts of Scripture which speak of Baptism as reno- 
vating man, washing him, sanctifying him, and which de- 
clare him free from any cause, or any matter of condem- 
nation, when thus incorporated with Christ, clearly prove 

* Lectures on Justif. p. 176—182. f Tract No. 90, § 2. 
* Tract No. 67, p. 97. 



132 BAPTISM. 

that whatever has the real, nature of sin is taken away by 
the sacred laver. It is revolting to think that even the 
baptized man should be necessarily and constantly in mor- 
tal sin. This is not to exhibit divine mercy, but to blas- 
pheme the work of God, as in itself vicious and corrupt,* 
and to deny the efficacy of a sacrament directed expressly 
to the remission of sin. 

The necessity of Baptism for salvation was declared by 
the Council of Trent, which anathematized " whosoever 
shall say that Baptism is free, that is not necessary for sal- 
vation."! In the exposition of Catholic doctrine, the 
Council says: " Since the gospel has been promulgated, 
the translation" (from the state in which we are born to 
the state of grace,) " cannot take place without the laver 
of generation or its desire : as it is written, Unless a man 
be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot 
enter into the kingdom of God. "J It is surprising to find 
that Bishop M'llvaine admits in a note that we " deny not 
salvation to such as have desired Baptism" ;§ and attempts 
to prove it inconsistent with our principles, which he mis- 
states, whilst in the text he alledges that the Council of 
Trent declared that no one was ever justified without the 
actual* reception of baptism: "It is," he says, "notori- 
ously the doctrine of the Trent Decrees that Baptism is 
4 the only instrumental cause' of justification ; so absolute- 
ly necessary thereto, that without it justification is obtain- 
ed by none. "|| This is rendered the more remarkable by 

* Mohler rightly observes that this opinion supposes sin to be a 
substance ; and thus revives one of the worst errors of the Gnostics 
and Manicheans. Symbolik 1. 1. ch. ii. § vi. 

•f Sess. vii. Can. v. de Baptismo. 

+ Sess. vi. cap. iv. de justif. 

§ Oxford Divinity, p. 213. Note. 

II Ibidem. Text. 



BAPTISM. 133 

his quoting in the note these words as of the Council : 
" Instrumental causa — Sacramentum baptismi sine quo 
nulli unquam justificatio contingit. Concil. Trident. Sess. 
vi." Were the decrees of the Council before him when 
he made this quotation, it would be impossible to excuse 
him from the disgrace of having mutilated and corrupted 
the text, to suit his purpose : but of this I willingly acquit 
him, being persuaded that he took the quotation at second 
hand. The text runs thus : " Instrumental item, sacra- 
mentum baptismi, quod est sacramentum fidei sine 
qua nulli unquam contigit justificatio."* " The sacrament 
of Baptism, which is the sacrament of faith, without which 
(faith) no one ever was justified, is the instrumental 
cause." The necessity of faith in adults is declared, in 
conformity with the teaching of the Apostle, that " with- 
out faith it is impossible to please God." No mention 
whatsoever of the necessity of Baptism is made in this 
passage ; and yet Bishop M'llvaine makes it the foundation 
of an argument to which he frequently reverts !t 

The inconsistency with which he reproaches us as, on 
the one hand, admitting the possibility of salvation of those 
who die without Baptism, but sincerely desiring it, and, 
on the other, asserting " the deadness of faith, and the 
necessary absence of love in all faith which precedes Bap- 
tism, "^ is a pure misconception on his part. We say in 
the language of St. James, that the faith of him whose 
works do not correspond with his belief is dead, but we 
do not say that such is necessarily the case with every one 
who is a candidate for Baptism, since the grace of God 

* Sess. vi. cap. vii. Deer, de justif. 

f Vide Oxford Divinity, p. 371, 375, et passim. 

+ Ibidem p. 214. et p. 182. 

12 



134 BAPTISM. 

may inspire him with lively faith and ardent love before 
its actual reception. Cornelius and his family received the 
Holy Ghost whilst Peter was yet speaking to them, be- 
fore they were baptized.* Others may receive grace in 
like manner, and be justified before the actual reception of 
the sacrament, the grace whereof they may receive by an- 
ticipation, God accepting the desire of their heart, and 
subsequently in its reception conferring more abundant 
grace.t This may particularly happen in regard to such 
as are snatched out of life before they can receive the 
sacrament. The believer, whilst preparing for its recep- 
tion, may suddenly feel the approach of death, when no 
n mister of God or other person is at hand to make the 
sacred ablution. Relatives, under the influence of strong 
prejudices, may refuse to the dying man the opportunity 
of receiving the sanctifying rite. In such circumstances 
his faith, desire, and love will no doubt obtain for him from 
the divine goodness the grace which he earnestly implores. 
This sentiment is not at all inconsistent with the belief of 
the necessity of Baptism for all who have it in their power 
to receive it, and of its efficacy, whereby grace is imparted 
to the worthy receiver. 

The faith of the Catechumen who diligently prepares 
for the reception of Baptism, has not its full perfection 
until love be joined with it; "for," as the Council of 
Trent teaches, " unless hope and charity be united with 
it, it neither perfectly unites with Christ, nor renders us a 

* Acts x. 44. 

j- Dr. Pusey's views in regard to the baptism of Cornelius, are 
somewhat peculiar, but do not deserve the severe strictures of Bishop 
M'llvaine. He holds that Cornelius was already sanctified, before he 
sent for Peter, but that he was not regenerated until he actually re- 
ceived Baptism. See Tract on Baptism, p. J 76. 



EAPTISM. 135 

living member of his body.' 1 * Yet it must not be con- 
founded with the faith of the obstinate sinner, whose 
sterile convictions are likened by St. James to the sense 
which demons have of the divine power and justice. — 
The Catechumen fears the judgments of God, hopes in 
his mercy, flees to his goodness, and purposes to serve 
and love him, sorrowing over his own folly and sinfulness, 
whereby he provoked so good a Father. Who dares as- 
similate the tears of Peter, or Magdalen, to the wrathful 
feeling of damned souls, agitated by despair, hate, and 
every passion ? It may be that the faith and sorrow of the 
Catechumen are not so perfect as to reconcile him with 
God until the actual reception of Baptism, when divine 
grace supplies the deficiency, exalts and perfects the dis- 
positions which proceeded originally from a divine im- 
pulse, and fills the soul with the love of God : but the 
virtues of hope and love are not necessarily withheld, to 
be then imparted. The faith which precedes is not neces- 
sarily a dead faith. It is, on the contrary, the first princi- 
ple of life, moving and preparing the soul for its enjoy- 
ment, exciting to hope and love, and finally working 
through love. It may at once, through the grace of God, 
quicken into life, and being accompanied with all the vir- 
tues, of which it is the parent, justify and sanctify the soul 
before the actual reception of Baptism : but if the work of 
grace gradually develop itself, it is wrong to brand its 
commencement as naked and dead faith, because it does 
not yet appear in its full vigor. It is a germ of life, gra- 
dually developed and matured, and bearing fruit in due 
season. 

Bishop M'llvaine, misled again by his guides, makes 

* Sess. vi. cap. vi. de jnstif. 



136 BAPTISM. 

the following statement : " Aquinas, defining the faith 
required for Baptism, says that though a person should not 
have a right faith as to other articles, he may have it as to 
Baptism, and thus he may have the intention to receive 
Baptism. But even though he should not think correctly 
concerning this sacrament, a general intention is sufficient for 
its reception : because, though he knows nothing correctly 
about it, he intends to receive it as Christ appointed, and 
the Church has handed it down." He then quotes the 
words of St. Thomas, but mistakes the reference,* whence 
it is plain that he has been led into his erroneous inference 
by the author from whom he borrowed the quotation : 
" Thus," he says, " the most general assent, a mere pro- 
fession of faith, in whatever may be asserted by the church, 
without knowing any thing about it, is the whole require- 
ment for Baptism."! Although the mistake is manifest, 
and excusable, I know not what excuse can be offered for 
making so grave a charge against so distinguished a divine, 
and against the Church, whose doctrine he explains so 
lucidly. The words quoted are indeed found in St. 
Thomas, but he expressly limits their meaning to the 
mere valid reception of the sacrament. He remarks, that 
" two effects are produced in the soul by Baptism, namely, 
sacramental character and grace. Any thing may be 
necessary for Baptism in two ways. In one sense that is 
necessary, without which grace, which is the last effect of 
the sacrament, cannot be had : and in this way correct 
faith is required of necessity for Baptism : because as is 
said in Romans iii. ' The justice of God is through the 

* He cites p. 1, 2, q. 67, q. 8. The passage is taken from the 3rd 
part of the Surama, not from the 1st. the 68th question and 8th Arti- 
cle. The reference should consequently be p. 3, qu. 68, art. 8, ad 3. 

f Oxford divinity, p. 216. Note. 



BAPTISM. 137 

faith of Jesus Christ.' In another way that is necessarily 
required for Baptism, without which the baptismal charac- 
ter cannot be impressed. And in this sense the correct 
faith of the baptized person is not required of necessity for 
Baptism, as not even the correct faith of him who baptizes, 
provided the other things be had which are of necessity 
for the Sacrament. For the Sacrament is not perfected 
through the justice of the giver or receiver, but through the 
power of God."* So far, then, from teaching that the 
whole requirement for Baptism is a most general assent, 
without any distinct knowledge of the articles of belief, St. 
Thomas expressly requires sound faith for the reception 
of the grace of the Sacrament, and holds it to be unlawful to 
administer it to any one who does not abandon infidelity and 
sin : "As the Sacrament of Baptism should not be conferred 
on him who will not forsake other sins, so neither should it 
be administered to him who will not abandon infidelity. 
Both however receive the Sacrament, if it be administered 
to them, although not to their salvation."! 

The doctrine of St. Thomas is this : some kind of inten- 
tion is required on the part of the adult for the valid recep- 
tion of Baptism : such intention may exist in one whose 
faith is not sound, even as to the Sacrament itself. Such 
an individual, therefore, if baptized, really receives the 
sacramental character, although his soul be devoid of grace, 
since without true faith, as well as sincere repentance, 
justice cannot be attained. To infer hence that a mere 
profession of faith in whatever may be asserted by the 
Church, is the whole requirement for baptism, is bad logic, 
and great injustice. 

With similar injustice Bishop M'llvaine adds : "Aquinas 

* St. Thomas ubi supra Resp. f Ibidem ad 4. 

12* 



138 BAPTISM. 

teaches no more concerning the repentance required. He 
says : « Pcenitentia ante baptisrnum est actus virtutis 
disponens ad sacramentum baptismi ;' it is an act of virtue 
disposing one to Baptism. This is precisely what he and 
Mr. Newman say of the dead faith before Baptism. Of 
course, if faith is dead, repentance must be also. Hence 
Romanists call it mere attrition, that is, a sort of penitence, 
resulting only from fear, having no love of God, which is 
the distinguishing feature of contrition. Thus Aquinas : 
Antequam gratia infundatur non est habitus a quo actus 
contritionis postea elicitur ; est sic nullo modo attritio 
potest fieri contritio.' Before grace is poured into the 
heart (in Baptism) there is no habit from which the act of 
contrition may be elicited ; and thus in no way can attrition 
become contrition. Part 3, Suppl. 2, 2, A. 3.* 

The faith and repentance required for baptism must 
necessarily exclude the disposition to sin : " The Sacrament 
of Baptism," says St. Thomas, " cannot impart salvation, 
if the will of sinning be cherished, which excludes the 
form of faith. "t The penitence, then, cannot be styled 
dead, since it disposes for life, and though it may be attri- 
tion, resulting from the fear of divine justice, it must 
exclude the disposition to sin, and be accompanied with 
hope, in order to prepare the soul for justification in the 
Sacrament. It does not spring from the most perfect 
motives of love, but it implies a commencement of love 
whereby God is embraced as the source of all justice.^ In 
the passage quoted by Bishop M'llvaine, St. Thomas treats 
of a scholastic subtlety, whether attrition can become con- 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 217. Note. 

f 3 par. qu. lxviii. art. iv. ad 3. 

% Cone. Trid. Sess. vi. cap. vi. de justific. 



BAPTISM. 139 

trition, and he maintains the negative opinion, because 
contrition is grounded on higher motives, and springs from 
sanctifying grace. Before grace is communicated, (whether 
in Baptism or otherwise, he does not state,) the habit or 
state of the soul, from which contrition arises, does not 
exist ; and therefore contrition must be ascribed to a new 
and different principle. The servile fear by which the 
sinner was roused at the intimation of God's judgments, 
gives place to a holier feeling of love, and he no longer 
hates sin merely as the cause of never-ending torments, 
but as the offence of God most worthy of all his love. 

Thus, then, the dispositions for Baptism are an unre- 
served faith in all the revealed truths, and a sincere sorrow 
for having offended God. The candidate may conceive 
this sorrow from the most perfect motives : but provided 
it be supernatural and efficacious, he may approach the 
Sacrament with confidence in the mercy of our Saviour 
God, who will complete the good work he has begun, and 
breathe his holy love into the soul, and glorify his power 
in this new creation. What is there wanting in this doc- 
trine to excite man to purity of life, and to vindicate the 
attributes of God ? 

The efficacy of Baptism, as the instrument of Divine 
power, is attested by all the christian fathers in numberless 
passages of their writings. They dwell on the prerogatives 
of the Christian, made a child of God at the sacred font : 
they explain, with admirable variety and depth of thought, 
the figures of the ancient dispensation from the time when 
the Spirit brooded over the waters, until the same Spirit 
descended dove-like over the Saviour, as he came forth 
from the Jordan : they expound the prophetic oracles 
which announce a purification from all iniquities with clean 
water, and the creation of a new heart and new spirit : they 



140 BAPTISM. 

represent the Christian as incorporated with Christ by- 
means of the sacred laver : they unfold the sublime duties 
that the reception of Baptismal grace and character im- 
poses ; and in every imaginable way they bear testimony 
to the Divine effects of this sacrament.* Yet Bishop 
MTlvaine, after Jewel, has ventured to quote a passage of 
St. Augustin, as adverse to its efficacy. The passage only 
shows, that the efficacy of the ablution is derived from the 
invocation which accompanies it, and that this is not a 
mere sound, but an object of divine faith. On the text: 
" Now you are clean by reason of the word, which I have 
spoken to you," St. Augustin asks : " Why does he not 
say, you are clean by reason of the Baptism wherewith 
you are washed, but by reason of the word which I have 
spoken to you ; unless it is because the word cleanses 
even in the water ? Take away the word, and what is 
water but water ? The word is added to the element, and 
the Sacrament is conferred. Whence has the water so 
great virtue that whilst it touches the body, it cleanses the 
soul, unless through the efficacy of the word, not because 
it is uttered, but because it is believed ? For in the word 
itself the passing sound differs from the abiding virtue. 
This is the word of faith which we preach, by which, 
doubtless, even Baptism is consecrated, that it may have 
the power of cleansing. For Christ, who is the vine 
together with us, and whose Father is the husbandman, 
loved the Church, and delivered himself for it. Read the 
Apostle, and see what he adds : ' that he might sanctify 
it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word.' Cleans- 
ing would by no means be ascribed to a liquid and transient 
element, unless it were added in the word. This word of 

* See the Tract of Dr. Pusey, No. 67, throughout. 



BAPTISM. 141 

faith is so powerful in the Church of God, that by means 
of it, it cleanses the believer, him who offers, him who 
blesses, him who baptizes, even the tender infant, although 
not yet able with the heart to believe unto justice, and with 
the mouth to confess unto salvation."* It is most evident 
that Augustin ascribes to the Sacrament an intrinsic power, 
whereby the soul is cleansed, the infant without actual 
faith is made a child of God, and the adult believer is 
purified from the stains of actual sins, as well as from 
original sin. He justly ascribes this virtue, not to the 
mere water, but to the divine word, whereby the water is 
consecrated, and made the instrument of Christ for the 
purification of the soul. 

* Tract 80 in Joan. 



142 



CHAPTER XII, 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 



The doctrine of justifying faith, as propounded by- 
Luther, naturally led to the disparagement of ail the 
Sacraments. " All the Sacraments," he said, " were insti- 
tuted to nourish faith."* Elsewhere he writes : " It can- 
not be true that the Sacraments have an efficacious force of 
justification, or that they are efficacious signs of grace. For 
all these things are said to the prejudice of faith, through 
ignorance of the divine promise. Unless you style them 
efficacious in this sense, provided there be undoubting 
faith, they impart grace most certainly and most effica- 
ciously."! Melancthon said they were p^ocrwot — " mere 
memorials for the exercise of faith. "J Calvin admitted 
the efficacy of the Sacraments only in regard to the elect, 
to whom God gives grace, not through them as instruments, 
but according to his eternal decree. He scornfully repelled 
all idea of intrinsic efficacy. § These sentiments prevail 
generally throughout the various Protestant sects. 

Those who are denominated the High Church party 
among Episcopalians have usually employed language 
implying more dignity and efficacy in the Sacraments than 
their brethren of the Low Church are willing to acknow- 
ledge : and the Oxford divines seem ready to subscribe, if 

* Opp. Jen. torn. iii. fol. 286, b. f Ibidem 287. 

* Loc. theol. p. 46. § Instit. 1. iv. § 17, fol. 477. 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 143 

not in terms, at least in substance, to the Catholic doctrine 
on the subject. Dr. Pusey complains of those who enter- 
tain low views of the Sacraments, " as if there were some 
antecedent improbability in God's gifts being lodged in 
particular observances, and distributed in a particular way ; 
and as if the strong wish, or moral worth, of the individual 
could create in the outward ceremony a virtue which it 
had not received from above. Rationalistic, or (as they 
may more properly be called) carnal notions concerning 
the Sacraments, and on the other hand, a superstitions ap- 
prehension of resting in them, and a slowness to believe 
the possibility of God's having literally blessed ordinances 
with invisible power, have, alas ! infected a large mass of 
men in our communion. . . . " Hence we have almost 
embraced the doctrine, that God conveys grace only 
through the instrumentality of the mental energies, that is, 
through faith, prayer, active spiritual contemplations, or 
(what is called) communion with God in contradiction to 
the primitive views, according to which the church and 
her Sacraments are the ordained and direct visible means 
of conveying to the soul what is in itself supernatural and 
unseen."* 

The intrinsic efficacy of the Sacraments is expressed by 
the church, when she says that they contain and confer 
grace ex opere operato. This is styled by Bishop Mllvaine 
M a dark and deadly plague spot of Popery ;"t and yet it 
means no more than that, as Divine institutions, they are 
the instruments by which Christ imparts his gifts to men, 
whensoever no obstacle exists on the part of those who 

* Advertisement, premised to Tract on Baptism, No. 67. In the 
English edition it precedes Tract No. 47. 
f Oxford Divinity, p. 217. 



144 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

receive them. When the Priest says : « I baptize thee in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy- 
Ghost ;' and simultaneously washes the applicant with 
water, the power of the Triune God purifies the soul. It 
is not the piety of the Priest that ensures the effect: the 
solemn invocation does not derive its power from his 
earnestness :* the faith and humility and compunction of 
the receiver are not the sources of the grace by which he is 
sanctified. It is the Sacrament itself, as a Divine instru- 
ment, which accomplishes what it signifies, and gives to 
the soul purity and grace. Obstacles, however, must be 
removed, that grace may exercise its power. If it fall on 
a heart of stone, its waters will glide away, without pene- 
trating it. If the heavenly light be intercepted by the 
clouds of human passion, its rays may not pierce the ob- 
scurity in which the sinner is involved. But when the 
eyes of the unbeliever are partially opened to the truths of 
faith, and full faith is gradually conceived, with the other 
necessary dispositions, the waters of Baptism wash away 
his sins. 

It is a gross error to imagine that to ascribe any inherent 
virtue to the Sacraments is to detract from the great sacri- 
fice of atonement. The offering of Calvary is constantly 
held in view, and from the victim bleeding on the cross for 
our sins, the virtue of all his institutions is derived. If the 
ablution with water cleanse the soul, it is in virtue of that 
blood which cleanseth from all iniquity. The power of 
God is displayed in the efficacy of these Divine instru- 
ments : and man is aroused from deadly lethargy, and 

* " The unworthiness of men cannot prevent the goodness of God 
from flowing in those channels in which he has destined it to flow." 
Tract No. 5. 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 145 

stimulated to active co-operation with grace, when he is 
taught that he must bring to their reception an humble 
mind and a subdued heart. 

When Bishop M'llvaine asserts that by the Sacraments 
conferring grace ex opere operato is meant that no pre- 
vious preparation of internal piety, such as that of a living 
faith is required in the recipient," he entirely misstates our 
principles ; since faith, and hope, and sorrow, and good 
resolution, are most certainly required in the adult. 

He says: " In the scholastic language of Romanism, 
there are two technical expressions with regard to the effica- 
cy of the Sacraments : viz. opus operans and opus operatum. 
The expression that the Sacraments confer grace ex opere 
operante means that their efficacy requires in the recipient, 
a preparatory state of inward piety. But the efficacy of 
the Sacraments of the Christian Church is — that they con- 
fer grace ex opere operato, by which is meant that no pre- 
vious preparation of internal piety, such as that of a living 
faith, is required in the recipient."* The Bishop has not 
only misstated the sense of this distinction, but has even 
misstated the terms in which it is proposed. The scholastics 
never speak of opus operans, but of opus operands. I 
submit the simple explanation of Father Thomas a 
Charmes : " sacramentum conferre gratiam ex opere 
operato,esl illam causare praecise vi operis ex instituto divino 
exerciti ; non autem ex merito conficientis vel suscipientis 
sacramentum : hinc opus operatum est ipsum sacramentum 
debite subjecto applicatum. Sacramentum conferre 
gratiam ex opere operantis, est illam causare praecise vi 
meriti conficientis vel suscipientis sacramentum.! The dif- 
ference, then, lies in this, that the Sacraments of Christ 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 215 f Tract, de Sacr. c. vi, <§. ii. 

13 



146 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

by his institution have a divine virtue in themselves ; to 
receive which, however, the adult must be prepared by- 
faith, and other dispositions : whilst other acts, as formerly 
the Mosaic rites, produce no effect, unless such as the piety 
of the person, who performs or receives them, may obtain 
from divine bounty. 

With similar injustice it is stated by Bishop M'llvaine 
after many other writers, that the Catholic church " teaches 
that the mere fear of punishment, called attrition, when 
united with the Sacrament of Penance is a substitute for 
true contrition of heart."* This ill accords with the 
teaching of the Council of Trent, which in reference " to 
that imperfect contrition, that is styled attrition, since it is 
commonly conceived either from the consideration of the 
turpitude of sin, or from the fear of hell and punishments, 
declares, that if it exclude the will of sinning, and be ac- 
companied with the hope of pardon, far from making the 
man a hypocrite, and greater sinner, it is a gift of God, and 
a movement of the Holy Ghost, not indeed as yet dwelling 
in the penitent, but merely exciting him, by the aid 
whereof he prepares the way for attaining to justice. And 
although it cannot of itself lead the sinner to justification 
without the Sacrament of Penance, nevertheless it disposes 
him to obtain the grace of God in this Sacrament. "t Every 
one sees that the sorrow here described, though imperfect 
in its motives, is perfect in banishing all sinful affection 
from the heart, and is not the mere fear of punishment, but 
a sincere detestation of sin. 

Newland, after Burnet, gives us a still more unjust idea 
of attrition. "Attrition," he says, "is any sorrow for 
sin, grounded upon an inferior notion, such as the loss or 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 194. | Sess. xiv. cap. iv. 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 147 

shame it has produced, without any resolution of amend- 
ment. Such a sorrow as this, they {Catholics) teach, 
makes the Sacrament effectual, and puts a man in a state 
of justification, though without the Sacrament, it is ac- 
knowledged, this effect could not be produced. "J What 
can we think of the man who with the decree of the Council 
of Trent which we have just recited in view, could indite 
such a libel ! The loss or shame which sin has produced 
is not a motive which can give rise to the sorrows requi- 
site for forgiveness. An usurer who has lost the capi- 
tal which he lent, allured by the exorbitant profit promised 
him, may grieve deeply for his avarice, so justly punished, 
but such sorrow does not qualify him to receive pardon in 
the sacred tribunal. Shame is equally insufficient to pre- 
pare the soul for reconciliation with God. Yet the child 
of misfortune may be led by the shame which overwhelms 
her, to consider the intrinsic turpitude of sin ; and may 
estimate the punishments which await it hereafter, from 
the horror with which, when exposed to general view, it 
is regarded even by those who themselves are sinners. 
She may learn the enormity of its guilt, and detest it as the 
offence of God, and flee abashed and confounded to the 
feet of his minister. Although she can no more recover 
the esteem of mankind which she has forfeited, and the 
beauty of innocence which has been blighted by the 
seducer, she may obtain pardon from her offended God. 
Banished and disowned by her earthly parents, and denied 
the solace of a mother's smile, she may be graciously re- 
ceived by her Father who is in Heaven, and who has 
promised that he would not forget her, even should the 
mother forget the child of her womb. As yet she may not 

* Analysis, art xxv. p. 439. 



148 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

breathe the purity of perfect love, and may not glow with 
that holy flame, with which the Gospel penitent was con- 
sumed when washing the feet of Jesus with her tears. She 
is struck with terror at the vengeance which she has pro- 
voked : she dares not raise her impure eyes to Heaven ; 
but she fixes them on the flames of the abyss wherein im- 
pure souls are tormented, in proportion to their former 
illicit pleasures, day and night for ever and ever. Humbled, 
penitent, detesting sin, resolved rather to suffer every most 
excruciating torment than again commit it, receiving with 
submission shame and all temporal consequences as its 
just punishment, she cries disconsolate and wretched : O 
God, be merciful to me a sinner ! My father and my 
mother have forsaken me : wilt not thou, O God, afford me 
a refuge ? It is to such a one that the Sacrament avails to 
justification. She hates sin from motives dictated by 
faith : she is firmly determined never to commit it : she 
fears ; she hopes : she loves the beauty and happiness of 
virtue as reflecting the holiness and justice of God: she is 
resolved to keep the commandments : she seeks God with 
her whole heart, and with intense affliction of soul : and is 
it criminal to believe that the Sacrament aids and supplies 
the imperfection of her love, and restores her to Divine 
favour? 

The dignity, efficacy, and necessity of the sacraments, 
as instruments and channels of grace, are grounded on the 
authority and merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and are at- 
tested by the m6st positive testimonies of Scripture, and by 
the writings of all the ancient Fathers. The advocates of 
the new system of justification, by the persuasion which 
each one conceives of the imputation to himself of Christ's 
righteousness, have not scrupled to bend and suit to their 
views the clearest passages of Scripture and tradition. All 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 149 

that the Apostle has said of regeneration and renovation by 
the sacred laver, they suppose to indicate the external seal 
of that which already had taken place, independently of 
the Sacrament, by faith ! The positive language of Christ 
in regard to the necessity of being born anew of water and 
the Holy Ghost, in order to enter into the kingdom of God, 
means no more for them than that, "he that contemns 
being born again of Baptism, and out of this contempt 
finally neglects it, shall never enter into the kingdom of 
God."* Thus every thing yields to the false idea con- 
ceived of the nature of justifying faith. The institutions 
of Jesus Christ are stripped of their virtue, and become 
mere signs, void of all sanctifying power : whilst the 
confidence which each one conceives of his justification in 
Christ, is the one thing necessary, the only indispensable 
condition for the attainment of heaven. Justly, then, does 
Mr. Newman cry out : "Away then with this modern, 
this private, this arbitrary, this tyrannical system, which 
abolishes Sacraments, to introduce dead ordinances ; and 
for the real participation of Christ, and justification 
through his Spirit, would, at the very marriage feast, 
feed us on shells and husks, who hunger ana? thirst after 
righteousness. "t 

Bishop M'llvaine says : "Nothing is more notorious 
than the fact that the old, as well as the modern, divines 
of the Church of England, have regarded the Sacraments 
of the two dispensations, circumcision for example, as 
standing on precisely the same footing with Baptism, in 
regard to the spiritual part of the covenant sealed; in other 

* Bishop Hopkins (of Raphoe) on the Doctrine of the Sacraments ; 
cited by Bishop M'llvaine, ch. x. p. 446. 

\ Lectures on Justif. p. 61. 
13* 



150 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

words, that the only vital difference was in the sign."* He 
charges the Oxford divines with innovation, because, in 
common with Catholics, they maintain that the Christian 
Sacraments have far greater dignity and efficacy than the 
Jewish rites : "They came to God," says Mr. Newman, 
" with rites ; He comes to us in Sacraments." t Circum- 
cision having been prescribed to Abraham, long before 
the delivery of the law through Moses, is not properly a 
Mosaic rite : but neither it, nor the Jewish rites, can serve 
to give us an adequate idea of the efficacy of the institu- 
tions of Christ. They all were types and figures, shadow- 
ing forth the blessings of a better dispensation, wherein the 
promised Redeemer would impart to his followers grace and 
salvation. St. Augustin says, " The Sacraments which 
give salvation, differ from sacraments which promised a 
Saviour.";): " Thus," says Dr. Pusey, " did the whole of 
antiquity understand Holy Scripture. They thought not 
of comparing the shadows with the substance, the symbols 
with the reality, the image with the truth, the introductory 
rites with the witnesses of His Presence. "§ 

All the texts which have been already quoted to prove 
that baptism is an instrument of justification and regenera- 
tion, show that the Christian Sacraments have a virtue 
which cannot be ascribed to the " weak and needy ele- 
ments" || of the ancient dispensation. The efficacy of the 
divine Eucharist need not be proved for those who believe 
it to be the body and blood of Christ, and who bear in 
mind the words of our Redeemer, whereby the abiding in 
Him by the most intimate union, is declared to be the pri- 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 223. f Lectures on Justification, p. 327. 

* In Ps. Ixxiii. n. 3. § Tract No. 67, p. 255. 

II Gal iv. 9. 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 151 

vilege of the receiver,* The forgiveness of sins, to be 
ratified in Heaven, is annexed to the exercise of the power 
of binding and loosing. t The Holy Ghost is received 
when the prelates of the Church impose hands and pray- 
that he may descend to confirm and complete the work 
which he began in baptism. J The gift of God is imparted 
by the imposition of hands of the priesthood. § The prayer 
of faith, accompanying the unction of the sick, saves the 
sick man whose sins are mercifully forgiven him, when 
he receives this divine rite.|| 

Some passages of St. Angustin are quoted by Bishop 
M'Ilvaine,1T after Jewell, to prove that the Sacraments have 
not inherent efficacy. Boniface, a bishop, had consulted 
Augustin, and begged a brief reply to his inquiry, why 
children were said to believe, when presented for Baptism 
by their sponsors. The holy doctor expressed regret that 
a short reply should be asked on so important a question. 
The sum of his answer however, is, the infants, are said 
to believe, because they receive Baptism, which is the 
Sacrament of faith. " Was not Christ," he asks, "once 
immolated in his own person, and nevertheless he is im- 
molated sacramentally for the people, not only throughout 
the whole Paschal solemnity, but daily : nor surely does 
the man lie, who when questioned, answers that He is 
immolated ? For if sacraments had not a certain likeness 
of the things whereof they are sacraments, they would not 
at all be sacraments. And from this likeness they gene- 
rally receive the names of the things themselves. As, 
then, in a certain way the Sacrament of the body of the 
Christ is the body of Christ, the Sacrament of the blood 
of Christ is the blood of Christ, so the Sacrament of faith 

* John vi. 57. f Ibidem xx. 23. * Acts viii. 17. § 2 Tim. i. 6. 
U James v. 15. % Oxford Divinity, p. 414. 



152 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

is faith : and thereby when it is answered that the infant 
believes, who as yet has not the affection of faith, he is 
said to have faith on account of the Sacrament of faith."* 
The brevity prescribed by Boniface, which Augustine 
justly regretted, has occasioned the obscurity of this an" 
swer, which might otherwise have been avoided. He 
sought to meet a difficulty by reference to the nature of 
the Sacraments, which signify objects different from those 
presented to the eye. Thus the daily sacrifice is the me- 
morial of the one sacrifice of Calvary, to which it bears a 
similitude, not in its outward form, but in its mysterious 
continuation of that great offering. It can be said with 
truth that Christ is immolated every day, but in sacrament, 
not with the effusion of blood. Thus also the Sacrament 
itself is called the body and blood of Christ, although to 
the eye neither is presented in its natural form, but only 
under the sacramental species. For the same reason Au- 
gustin maintains that Baptism, being the sacrament of faith, 
it may be called faith, and the infant who receives it may 
be said to have faith, as his sponsors reply in his name. 

It is not necessary to examine the solidity of this reply ; 
nor is it fair to appeal to an incidental illustration, which 
from its acknowledged brevity is obscure, to ascertain the 
sentiments of this illustrious doctor on the efficacy of the 
Sacraments, especially as we have other clear and decisive 
testimonies of his belief. Writing against Faustus, the 
Manichean, he maintains the necessity of sacraments of 
some kind to unite men in religious communion, and says 
that to contemn them is sacrilege, since without them 
piety cannot exist. Speaking in particular of the Sacra- 
ments of the new law, he observes that the words and ac- 

* Ep. xcviii. alias xxiii. Bonifacio. 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 153 

tions employed in them are sacred, but transitory, whilst 
the virtue of the Sacrament is perpetual : " For God is 
eternal, but the water and the whole action which is per- 
formed in baptizing is transitory, and not eternal : and yet 
unless these words which are so soon uttered, and which 
thus pass away be said, whilst God is invoked, the Bap- 
tism is not given. All these things are done, and they 
pass : the sounds are heard and pass away : but the virtue 
which works by means of them always remains, and the 
spiritual gift, which is communicated by them, is eternal."* 
The reality of the sacrifice is sufficiently asserted in the 
passage to Boniface, since he maintains that it is no false- 
hood to affirm that Christ is daily immolated. This is 
also taught in many other places : " That true Mediator," 
he says in his celebrated work on the city of God, "in- 
asmuch as taking the form of a servant he became the 
Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, whilst 
in the form of God he receives sacrifice, together with the 
Father, with whom he is also the one God, nevertheless 
in the form of a servant he preferred to be a sacrifice, 
rather than to receive it, lest even from this circumstance 
any one should think that sacrifice should be given to any 
creature. Thereby He is even a priest, himself the offerer, 
himself the offering. The sacrament whereof he willed 
that the daily sacrifice of the Church should be: which, 
as it is the body whereof He is the head, learns to offer 
herself through him. Of this true sacrifice the ancient 
sacrifices of the saints were manifold and various signs, 
since this one was prefigured by many, as if the same 
thing were expressed in many words, that it might be 
greatly commended without wearisomeness. All false 

* Contra Faustum, 1. xix. cap. xvi. 



154 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

sacrifices have yielded to this sovereign and true sacri- 
fice."* Elsewhere he represents the sacrifice of Melchise- 
deck as the type of that " sacrifice which is now offered 
by Christians to God throughout the world :"t and affirms 
that thus also the prophecy of Malachy is accomplished .J 
This was the general belief of antiquity. Leibnitz has 
acknowledged that " the Church has always taught the 
sacrifice to be contained in the Sacrament of the Eucharist," 
and that " there is nothing in our whole worship more 
precious than the sacrifice of this divine Sacrament, in 
which the body of our Lord itself is present."§ 

The real presence of the body and blood of Jesus 
Christ in the Eucharist, is affirmed by Augustin in num- 
berless places. "With faithful heart and mouth," he says, 
" we receive the Mediator of God and men, the man 
Christ Jesus, giving us his flesh to eat, and his blood to 
drink, though it seem more shocking to eat human flesh 
than to kill, and to drink human blood than to shed it."|| 
" Let those," he says elsewhere, " who eat the flesh of 
the Lord, and drink his blood, reflect on what they eat 
and drink, lest, as the Apostle says, they eat and drink 
judgment to themselves."^ " He that takes the Lord's 
Sacrament unworthily, does not render it an evil thing be- 
cause he is wicked, nor does he bring it to pass that he 
received nothing, because he did not receive it unto salva- 
tion, for IT IS NEVERTHELESS THE BODY OF THE LORD, AND 

the blood of the Lord, even to those to whom the 
Apostle said : He that eateth and drinketh unworthily,"** 

* L. x. de civ. Dei c. xx. f L. xvi. c. xxii. 

+ L. xviii. c. xxxv. § Systema Theologicum, pp. 262 6. 

|| L. ii. contra advers. legis et proph. 

J Tract, de Verbis Domini Serm. xlvi. 

** L. v. de Bapt. contra Donat. c. viii. 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 155 

&c. In another place he writes : " The ^good separate 
themselves in heart and manners from the wicked, whilst 
they eat and drink together the body and blood of the 
Lord."* Leibnitz explicitly states that this is the doctrine 
of all Christian antiquity: " Pious antiquity has declared 
with sufficient clearness, that the bread is changed into 
the body, and the wine into the blood ; and in this the an- 
cients universally acknowledge a change of substance, 
(futfatfro^si w$ts), which the Latins aptly translated transub- 
stantiation"^ 

The doctrine of St. Bernard, which Bishop M'llvaine, 
after others, objects,."): is not adverse to the efficacy of the 
Sacraments, although St. Thomas did not approve of the 
mode in which it is expressed. § St. Bernard was treating 
of sacred signs in general, understanding by the name of 
■ sacraments' the mysteries of our Lord's passion, as well 
as his institutions, and therefore observed that " there are 
many sacraments" ; but he proposed to treat only of three, 
namely, Baptism, Eucharist, and the washing of the feet, 
which being classed with the sacraments, shows the vague 
meaning in which the term is applied by this pious 
writer. He uses various examples by way of illustra- 
tion, not meaning to establish a perfect analogy between 
them and the true Sacraments, of which he speaks in 
terms the most unequivocal. Having mentioned the giving 
of a ring as a token of an inheritance, and the investing of 
a canon by the delivery of a book, of an Abbot by a staff, 
of a Bishop by crozier and ring, he says : " As in these 
things {there is diversity) so also there are various graces 
attached to various sacraments. What is the grace 

* Contra Donat. post collat. c xx. n. 27. 

f Systema Theologicum, p. 222-8. 

4 P. 391. § III. par. qu. lxii.art. 1. Reap. 



156 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

wherewith we are invested by Baptism ? Certainly the 
purging away of sins. For who can make him clean who 
is conceived of unclean seed, but God, who alone is pure 
and without sin?"* To this he objects that concupiscence 
still remains, and he solves the difficulty by saying, " We 
are then washed in Baptism, Because the handwriting of 
our condemnation is blotted out : and this grace is confer- 
red on us, that concupiscence should not be hurtful to us, 
provided we abstain from consenting." He then observes 
that the Eucharist further strengthens us : " Be of good 
heart, since in this also grace succours you, and that you 
may be secure, you receive the investiture at the price of 
the Sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord. For 
this Sacrament produces two effects in us, namely, it les- 
sens the sensual feeling in small matters, and it utterly 
takes away consent in grievous things. If any of you 
does not experience such frequent and strong impulses to 
anger, envy, luxury, or other vices, let him give thanks to 
the body and blood of the Lord, since the virtue of the 
Sacrament works in him."* 

The opinion which St. Thomas of Aquin combats in 
the passage referred to by Bishop M'llvaine, seems to be 
that the Sacraments are the moral but not physical causes 
of grace, God directly producing it, when they are admin- 
istered. " We must of necessity affirm," observes St. 
Thomas, " that the Sacraments of the. new law cause grace 
in some way : for it is manifest that man is incorporated 
with Christ by means of the Sacraments of the new law, 
as the Apostle says of Baptism, in the third chapter to the 
Galatians. 4 As many of you as have been baptized in 
Christ, have put on Christ.' Now man is not made a 

* Serm. in Ccena Domini. 



SACRAMENTS IX GENERAL. 157 

member of Christ, unless by grace. Some, however, say, 
that they are not the cause of grace by effecting any thing 
but because God produces grace in the soul when the 
sacraments are administered." This latter opinion he re- 
jects, because it would appear to reduce the sacraments to 
mere signs, " when nevertheless it is clear from many au- 
thorities of the saints, that the sacraments of the new law 
not only signify but cause grace." He proceeds to ex- 
plain the difference between a principal and an instru- 
mental cause : and he acknowledges that God is the prin- 
cipal cause of grace ; but maintains that the sacraments 
are instrumental causes, " for they are applied to men by 
divine appointment to cause grace in them."* This he 
confirms by a testimony of St. Augustin, and by the noted 
passage of St. Paul: " He saved us by the laver of rege- 
neration."! 

The physical or moral efficacy of the sacraments is still 
a subject of free discussion in the schools, Catholic faith 
only teaching that grace is annexed to them, and is im- 
parted whenever no obstacle exists to its reception. — 
Though the illustrations employed by St. Bernard are 
favorable to the moral efficacy, rather than the physical, 
his language concerning the sacraments themselves, ap- 
pears to indicate a physical power lodged in them by their 
Divine Author. In either case he does not question their 
true efficacy ; and the observation of St. Thomas, that this 
mode of explanation would reduce them to mere signs, 
refers rather to an inference that might be drawn from the 
bare illustrations, than to the sentiment of St. Bernard. It 
is manifest that the efficacy of the sacraments was an un- 
disputed point in the days of St. Thomas, and was con- 

* III. p. qu. lxii. art. 1. Resp. f Titus hi. 5. 

14 



158 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

sidered a Scriptural truth, sustained by tradition ; and that 
the whole difficulty regarded the mode or manner in which 
they produce their effects. 

The failure of the sacraments to sanctify such as ap- 
proach them unworthily, is no argument against their in- 
trinsic efficacy. They are powerful remedies; but for 
their right application the patient must take them in the 
manner prescribed by the heavenly Physician. They im- 
part divine gifts in a manner worthy of the sanctity and 
wisdom of the Donor. The heart must be prepared to 
receive the seed of life : and whoever cares not by humi- 
lity and compunction to break up the hard soil, must not 
wonder if the sun shine in vain, and the rains fall to no 
purpose. Hence Dr. Pusey remarks concerning Simon 
Magus, his case " is no proof that God withholds His 
grace from His sacraments, except when man disqualifies 
himself from receiving it."* 

It is gratifying to perceive that the efficacy of the sacra- 
ments is acknowledged by this learned divine, and that he 
shows no unwillingness to extend the appellation, although 
with some qualification, to other rites which the Anglican 
Articles treat disparagingly.! Mr. Newman, with some 
ingenuity, states that two sacraments are admitted " as gene- 
rally necessary to salvation," and specifies three others 
which partake of the sacramental character. " Ordina- 
tion," he says, " gives power, yet without making the 
soul acceptable to God ; confirmation gives light and 
strength, yet is the mere completion of baptism ; and ab- 
solution may be viewed as a negative ordinance, removing 
the barrier which sin has raised between us, and that grace 
which by inheritance is ours. "J It is true, that ordination 

* Tract 67, p. 187. \ Art. xxv. * Traet No. 90, § 7. 



SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 159 

does not make us acceptable to God, because it supposes 
that the person ordained is already in the state of grace: 
it gives him power and a divine gift ^apt^a to exercise 
worthily the functions of the sacred ministry, and there- 
fore increases the grace which he already possesses, and 
makes him more acceptable to God. The light and 
strength imparted in confirmation are the grace of the Holy 
Ghost. The removal of the barrier of sin effects our re- 
conciliation with God. Mr. Newman admits all the sacra- 
ments in a qualified sense : " This Article," he says, 
" does not deny the five rites in question to be sacra- 
ments."* Of marriage Dr. Pusey writes : " Marriage is 
a mystery as pourtraying the union of the Church with 
Christ; is not a sacrament as not conveying it."t It may 
not, however, be denied this title, when it is considered 
that from the honorable mention made of it by St. Paul, 
and by the Fathers of the Church, it is fairly deduced that 
it conveys grace to those who enter into this state, where- 
by their union may be a fit emblem of the divine union of 
Christ with his Church. In the Book of Homilies it is 
said : " By holy promises, we be made lively members of 
Christ, receiving the sacrament of baptism. By like holy 
promises the sacrament of matrimony knitteth man and 
wife in perpetual love. "J 

The recognition of the efficacy of the sacraments, far 
from detracting from the mystery of redemption, sets it 
forth in all its fulness. We are not left with mere signs, 
or tokens, or emblems ; but in virtue of the merits of our 
Redeemer, we receive grace, and strength, and life, through 
rites divinely instituted to convey them to our souls. This, 

*-Tract No. 90, § 7. ^ \ Tract No 67, p. 154. 

% 1 B. vii. 1. quoted by Mr. Newman in Tract No. 90, p. 71. 



160 SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL. 

as Dr. Pusey observes, was the consolation of the ancient 
Christians : " In his sacraments He was with them ; He 
fed them in the eucharist ; He washed away their sins in 
baptism ; and baptism was to them salvation, and the cross, 
and the resurrection, because He opened their eyes to see 
not only the visible minister, but Himself working invisi- 
bly ; not only the water, but the blood : and the Holy 
Spirit, the third witness, applying the blood, through the 
water to the cleansing of the soul."* 

* Tract No. 67, p. 142. 



161 



CHAPTER X1IL 



PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 



Justification is, as we have seen, the translation of the 
sinner from the state of sin to the state of grace, from death 
to life : and is plenary and perfect, whensoever all the 
punishment of sin, together with the sin itself, is pardoned. 
This takes place in Baptism which is the ablution of all 
stains, the renovation of the soul, the regeneration whereby 
the child of wrath, becomes a child of God. The justifi- 
cation of one who has violated his baptismal engagements 
is rarely so perfect according to Catholic doctrine, to which 
the Oxford divines assent. Dr. Pusey says : " If after 
having been washed once for all, in Christ's blood, we again 
sin, there is no more such complete absolution in this life; 
no restoration to the same state of undisturbed security in 
which God had by Baptism placed us." * This, however, 
is not accurate, since God does pardon unreservedly those 
who with entire and perfect love and sorrow flee to his 
mercy. Bishop M'llvaine more liberally dispenses Divine 
pardon to the believer. Of the Homilies he says : " They 
teach us that when it is said in the Article, that * by faith 
we are accounted righteous before God', we are to under- 
stand no less than that whenever a sinner believes in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, though his sins be red as scarlet, and 
as many as the sands on the sea shore, the righteousness 

* Scriptural Views of Baptism. 
14* 



162 PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 

of Christ is so perfectly made over to him, that he stands, 
in Him, before God, as having nothing laid to his charge, 
his sins remembered no more, his justification as perfect 
as was that of Adam before he sinned : no more capable of 
being increased than that of the beloved in whom he is 
accepted."* On the contrary, Macknight observes 
that the Scriptures " do not even say, that Christ's 
righteousness is counted, or imputed to believers ; 
far less that they are made perfectly righteous thereby : 
which is an impossibility, — because no person can be 
perfectly righteous in the sight of God, but one who 
hath never sinned." t It is indeed impossible to bring it 
to pass that sin already committed should not have existed ; 
but God can certainly by his Almighty power invest the 
soul with any perfection that is communicable to a creature. 
The application of the merits of Christ in Baptism is 
after the manner of an ablution, which washes the indi- 
vidual from all stain ; but it is not the lot of every penitent 
who has forfeited baptismal innocence, to receive an 
equally liberal application of the atoning blood. The 
Corinthian was subjected to public humiliation for his 
enormous crime ; and when penitent, he was not restored 
to the privileges which he had forfeited, until the Apostle, 
using the power given him by Christ, forgave in his name 
whatever still remained to be atoned for, lest perhaps the 
unhappy man should be overwhelmed with exceeding 
grief. J It has always been the persuasion of the Christian 
Church, that sins committed after Baptism are not par- 
doned with equal facility and plenitude as the errors of 
ignorance and passion that preceded the Baptismal laver. 

* Charge to the Clergy of Ohio in 1838. 

f Essay vi. on Justification. t 2 Cor. ii. 10. 



PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 163 

In the ancient dispensation the assurance given by the 
prophet Nathan to David, that the Lord had taken away 
his sin, did not prevent the penitent King from seeking a 
more complete purification than he had yet obtained : 
M Wash me yet more from my iniquity and cleanse me 
from my sin." * He was also assured by the prophet that 
the child, the fruit of his adultery, should die, although his 
sin was pardoned : " Here is a perspicuous instance of a 
penitent restored to God's favour, at once, yet his sins 
afterwards visited."! 

Macknight argues that there is no justification until the 
day of judgment, because sin continues to be visited with 
temporal chastisements : "If believers are pardoned in 
this life, they must in this life be delivered from the 
punishment of sin, that is from diseases and death, and 
every evil which at the fall was inflicted on mankind as the 
punishment of Adam's sin." ± This is an unwarrantable 
conclusion, because temporal evils may serve as the exer- 
cise of patience, or may be a partial chastisement and a 
salutary preservative against relapse^ We cannot doubt 
that David's sin was really taken away, although the death 
of his child followed, to punish, in a temporal way, that 
crime the guilt whereof, with the eternal punishment, was 
remitted. So does it often happen that temporal calamities 
befall the servants of God for sins of their former life of 
which they obtained forgiveness. Poverty, sickness, per- 
secution are oftentimes the consequences of former sins, 
which, if the sinner accept with humility, will serve for 
his more perfect purification. When David fled from the 
royal city, of which his rebellious son had taken posses- 

* Ps. 1. f Tracts Vol. iv. No. 79. 

i Essay vi. on Justification. § 5. 



164 PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 

sion, as he " went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, going 
up and weeping, walking bare-foot, and with his head 
covered" ; * he humbly recognised the just visitation of 
God, whereby his sins were punished. Thus does God 
unite the exercise of justice with mercy, and vindicates, 
even in the sight of men, the indulgence wherewith he 
treats the penitent. The pardon is true and real, as was 
that of Absalom, when permitted by his father to return 
from exile, although not allowed to present himself in the 
royal presence. If man can temper mercy with justice, 
in releasing a criminal from capital punishment, and yet 
subjecting him to imprisonment, or other penalty, what can 
prevent God pardoning sin, and yet subjecting the sinner 
to some chastisement ? 

The ancient penitential discipline, which was~ reduced 
to system so far back as the third century, and which 
existed substantially from the commencement, as is evident 
from the writings of Tertullian, Hermes, and others, was 
grounded on the belief that the same plenary pardon was 
not ordinarily granted to those who had forfeited baptismal 
grace, as had been imparted at the sacred font. Public 
humiliations and private austerities were enjoined, and, 
according to the grievousness of the sin, a period was fixed 
before the expiration of which the sinner was not restored 
to the privileges of Christian communion. The reparation 
of the scandal given was not the only or primary motive 
of this severity ; but the persuasion that the sinner owed 
a debt to divine justice, although his faith and sorrow 
might have secured forgiveness of the guilt of his sin, was 
the principle on which it was grounded. He wept, he 
prostrated himself, he fasted on bread and water, he cast 

* 2 Kings xv. 30. 



/■ 



PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 165 

himself at the feet of his more happy brethren to ask their 
prayers ; and, clothed in sackcloth and covered with ashes, 
he awaited until the Bishop deemed his satisfaction com- 
plete, or, having regard to his fervor or his weakness, 
extended to him the indulgence of the Church/ St. Pacian 
describes the penitent as " weeping in the sight of the 
Church, in a penitential garb, mourning over the excesses 
of his past life, fasting, praying, prostrating himself, and 
when invited to enjoy the luxury of the bath declining the 
invitation ; when invited to a banquet, replying ; « These 
enjoyments are for the innocent. I have had the 
misfortune to sin against the Lord, and am in danger of 
perishing everlastingly." * St. Augustin shows the wis- 
dom "of this economy which God observes towards the 
sinner, in requiring penitential humiliation, even after for- 
giveness has been granted. " Man," he says, "is obliged 
to suffer, even after the remission of his sins, although sin 
was in the first instance the cause of his being subjected to 
misery. The punishment continues after the fault has 
been taken away, lest the fault should be deemed trivial, 
if the punishment terminated with it. And thereby either 
to show the misery due to sin, or to correct frailty, or to 
exercise necessary patience, man is subject to temporal 
punishment, even when sin does not hold him liable to 
everlasting damnation." t St. Cyprian inveighed against 
the hasty admission of apostates to the privileges which 
they had forfeited, and insisted that the Divine justice 
required severe satisfaction: "It is necessary to pray and 
implore God with earnestness, to pass the days in mourn- 
ing, to spend the nights in watching and weeping, to devote 

* Pareenesis ad Poenitentiam. 
•(- Tract, cxxiv. in Joan. n. 5. 



166 PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 

all one's time to tearful lamentations, prostrate on the earth 

to cling to ashes, to lie wrapped in sackcloth." " He 

that shall thus satisfy God, he that through penitence for 
his crime, he that through shame for his delinquency, shall 
conceive greater virtue and faith from the very sorrow for 
his fall, being favourably heard, and being succoured by 
the Lord, will fill the Church with joy, which he recently 
afflicted, and will obtain not only the pardon of God, but 
a crown from him." * When Dr. Pusey says that the 
Protestant system gives peace which it has not to bestow, 
he, probably, had in view a celebrated passage of St. 
Cyprian, who styles the hasty reconciliation of apostates : 
" a vain and fallacious peace, dangerous to those who give 
it, and of no use to the receiver." 

The ancient discipline of the Church and the testimonies 
of the early Fathers, accordingly sanction the belief, that 
the justification of the sinner after baptism is not generally 
so complete as to free him from all debt of temporal pun- 
ishment: and this belief is conformable to the dealings of 
God with sinners under the ancient dispensation, as the 
example of David shows. If any one demand direct proof 
from the New Testament, that God observes the same 
economy towards delinquents, who by voluntary sin have 
forfeited the grace of baptism, we observe that the Corinth- 
ian was not pardoned, until he had given such signs of 
deep sorrow, as rendered it likely that he would be over- 
whelmed with excessive grief, unless the indulgence of 
the Church were extended to him ; and that the Apostle 
in granting it, professed to forgive him in the name of 
Christ, which supposes a debt still remaining, notwith- 
standing his compunction. " What I have pardoned," 

* L. de lapsis. 



PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 167 

he says, " if I have pardoned any thing, for your sakes 
have I done it, in the person of Christ."* Besides the 
enormity of sin committed after baptism is so strongly de- 
clared in Scripture, that we should be led to believe it alto- 
gether unpardonable, unless we bore in mind the power of 
forgiveness lodged in the Apostolic ministry. " For it is im- 
possible", says St. Paul, " for those who were once illumi- 
nated, have tasted also the heavenly gift, and were made 
partakers of the Holy Ghost, have moreover tasted the 
good power of God, and the powers of the world to come, 
and are fallen away, to be renewed again to penance. "t 
" If we sin wilfully after having the knowledge of the 
truth, there is now left no sacrifice for sins, but a certain 
dreadful expectation of judgment, and the rage of a fire 
which shall consume the adversaries. "| Though these 
texts be specially referred to the crime of apostacy, yet it 
will be difficult to limit them to this crime, without the 
guiding light of tradition ; as it will be impossible to ascer- 
tain on what conditions sins in general, committed after 
baptism, are to be forgiven, unless we abide by the authori- 
tative teaching and solemn practice of those to whom Christ 
imparted the power of forgiveness. Since, then, from 
their teaching and practice, in the earliest and purest 
times, the necessity of penitential satisfaction is manifest, 
we are bound to believe that the justification of the 
sinner after baptism is oftentimes attended with sub- 
jection to temporal punishment. Dr. Pusey has laboured 
to show that the article of the Church of England which 
declares that " they are to be condemned that deny the 

* 2 Cor. ii. 10, h ti ^f^apc^at is equivalent to "whatsoever it 
may be that I have pardoned." 

f Heb. vi. 6. § lb. x. 26. 



168 PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 

place of forgiveness to such as truly repent," does not ne- 
cessarily imply plenary pardon. " But who truly repent ; 
when a man who has been guilty of sin after baptism may 
be satisfied that he is truly repentant for it ; whether and 
to what degree he should all his life continue his repentance 
for it — wherein his penitence should consist ; whether con- 
tinued repentance would efface the traces of sin in himself; 
whether he might ever in this life look upon himself as 
restored to the state in which he had been, had he not 
committed it; whether it affect the degree of his future 
bliss, or its effects be effaced by repentance ; but their ex- 
tinction depend upon the continued greatness of his re- 
pentance ; whether cessation of his active repentance may 
not bring back degrees of the sin upon him ; whether it 
shall appear again in the day of Judgment : these and the 
like are questions upon which the Article does not 
speak."* 

It is to us of little moment how far the Article may be 
reconcileable with the doctrine of the Catholic Church, 
whilst we find our principles in perfect harmony with the 
ancient doctrine and practice. We do not participate in 
the doubts of Dr. Pusey, for we know that plenary justifi- 
cation may be obtained by the true penitent, if the intense- 
ness of his grief and ardor of his love bear proportion 
to the grievousness of his offences. Many sins were for- 
given to her who loved much : and whoever seeks God 
with all his heart and with entire affliction of soul may ob- 
tain full remission. There is no limit to Divine mercy. 
In a moment the enormities of years may be cancelled, and 
every trace of sin obliterated, and the soul invested with 
snow-white purity. Divine justice may yield all its 

* Letter to Bishop of Oxford. 



PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 169 

rights, and the sinner may stand justified, absolved, ac- 
quitted of all debt of satisfaction. The Council of Trent 
has only condemned whosoever should assert that " after 
receiving the grace of justification sin is remitted, and the 
liability to eternal punishment cancelled for any penitent 
sinner whatsoever, in such a way as that there remain no 
liability to temporal punishment to be suffered either in 
this life or in the future world in Purgatory, before the en- 
trance to the kingdom of heaven be open." This asser- 
tion is justly anathematized.* 

But we have reason to fear that intense and perfect con- 
trition rarely exists, and it is not conformable to Divine 
wisdom to admit to reconciliation on the same terms the 
sinner who barely estranges his affections from sin, and 
the penitent who bitterly and constantly weeps for his pre- 
varications. The most powerful incentive to perfect con- 
trition is found in the unqualified pardon which it may ob- 
tain ; and a salutary restraint is put on the repentant sinner, 
by the consideration, that although he may have found 
mercy by repentance, there may still be a heavy debt to 
Divine justice, for which satisfaction should be made by 
penitential humiliations. He is taught, therefore, as St. 
Chrysostom in his day exhorted penitents, to deny him- 
self in proportion as he had sought unlawful indulgence. 
If he has quaffed the intoxicating draught, let him abstain 
even from moderate use of the dangerous potion : if he has 
glutted his appetite, making a god of his belly, let him 
fast : if he has given loose reins to passion, let him observe 
continence. The uncertainty of his sorrow, as long as he 
is neglectful of penitential exercises, is usefully employed 
to rouse him from his torpor. Christ has paid his ran- 

* Sess. VI. (Jan. xxx. de Justific. 
15 



170 PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 

som : but He will not have it applied to the tepid, and 
slothful, much less to the impenitent. Let sinners, then, 
humble their souls in fasting, with hope in Divine mercy, 
tempered with fear of the rigor of Divine justice : " Who 
can tell," said the alarmed Ninivites, "if God will turn, 
and forgive, and will turn away from his fierce anger, and 
we shall not perish?"* St. Jerome justly remarks on this 
text: "It is put as doubtful and uncertain, that men, being 
uncertain of their salvation, may do penance more strenu- 
ously, and may thereby more effectually move God to 
mercy. "t 

These terms which we propose to sinners in the name 
of God, who is at once both just and merciful, are some- 
what more severe than the consoling doctrine, that we are 
fully justified the moment we apprehend by faith the right- 
eousness of Christ: but they are nothing more than what 
the prophets of the Old Law, and the Apostles preached, — 
penance unto the remission of sins. It is described by 
Christ himself as manifested in humiliation in sackcloth 
and ashes. It is the deep feeling of the soul that leads the 
sinner to the feet of Jesus there to weep : it draws bitter 
tears even from the bold blasphemer : it separates the in- 
cestuous from the object of passion: it bows down the 
sinner to the earth, and makes him strike his breast in 
sorrow : it bids every delinquent know and see that it is an 
evil and a bitter thing to have forsaken the Lord his God : 
it enters into his inmost soul, and displays itself in all his 
actions : it makes him know his iniquity, and have his 
sin always before him, and go sorrowful all the day long. 
But it is not void of consolation, for he knows that a con- 
trite and humble heart God will not despise : and in the 

* Jonas iii. 9. f In locum. 



PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 171 

very depth of his sorrow he exclaims with the Psalmist: 
11 According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, 
thy comforts have given joy to my soul."* 

When we speak of satisfaction to divine justice to be 
rendered by the sinner, we must be understood of such 
penal endurance as, through the merits of Jesus Christ, 
may be accepted by God in atonement for our sins. The 
malice of sin is in some measure infinite, being directed 
against the sovereignty of God ; and therefore the atone- 
ment should have an infinite dignity and value, such as we 
recognise in the sufferings and death of the God-man, 
Christ Jesus. No satisfaction can be offered that does not 
derive all its value from the sacrifice of the cross : but it 
is not derogatory to the infinite merit of this atonement, to 
believe that iis application depends on certain dispositions 
of mind, excited by divine grace ; and that plenary remis- 
sion is not granted unless to intense penitence, which is 
ordinarily manifested in penitential works. These satisfy 
for the temporal punishment due to sin, its guilt being 
washed away by the blood of Christ, which also gives 
value to them, and makes them acceptable to God. It is 
a misrepresentation of our doctrine to insinuate, as New- 
land does, that we suppose Christ to satisfy for the eternal 
punishment, and ourselves to satisfy for the temporal pun- 
ishment.! We believe Christ to have abundantly satisfied 
for sin, and for its punishment in time and eternity : 
m Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many. "J 
Our satisfactions are conditions, according to the plan 
which His wisdom devised for the application to us of his 
all-sufficient atonement : they derive from him all their 
efficacy. 

All the reliance of the sinner for pardon is on the infi- 

* Ps. xciii. 19. f Analysis, p. 191. Note. * Heb. ix. 28. 



172 PLENARY JUSTIFICATION. 

nite mercy of God, through his Redeemer Jesus Christ. 
He does not put forward his penitential works as entitling 
him to indulgence ; but he repeats incessantly, " Have 
mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy, and 
according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out 
my iniquities."* The sight of the cross recalls to his 
mind the enormity of sin, and the abundance of the atone- 
ment, and he appeals to the Father: " Look on the face 
of thy Christ." No one feels more deeply than he the 
need he has of a Saviour ; but at the same time he knows 
that the atoning blood is applied only to the true penitent ; 
and therefore is he anxious to banish from his heart every 
sinful affection, and to punish his sinful flesh for his for* 
mer unlawful gratification. 

* Ps, 1. 



173 



CHAPTER XIV 



INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 



The Council of Trent anathematized whosoever should 
" say that justice, when received, is not preserved and even 
increased before God by good works."* This increase of 
justice means nothing more than that the justified man be- 
comes more acceptable to God in proportion to his zeal in 
practising good works, and receives new gifts and grace 
whereby the soul is adorned and sanctified. Our ideas of 
this increase are necessarily imperfect, as we cannot easily 
conceive the ornaments and privileges of a spiritual sub- 
stance. The denial of inherent justice necessarily involves 
a denial of its increase. If justification be a mere ex- 
trinsic relation, the sinner being accounted just for Christ's 
sake, without being made just in reality, there can, of 
course, be no increase, where justice itself does not exist. 
As in this hypothesis, the whole righteousness of Christ 
is at once transferred to the justified man, increase is also 

* Bishop M'llvaine quotes the Council, p. 284, as saying, " If any 
one shall say that justification once obtained, is not increased by good 
works, but that these are only the fruits and signs of justification, let 
him be accursed" ! The canon should be translated thus — " If any 
one shall say that justice, when received, is not preserved, and even 
not increased before God by good works, but that the works them- 
selves are only the fruits and signs of justification obtained, and not 
the cause of its increase ; let him be anathema." Sess. vi. can. xxiv. 
dejustif. 

15* 



174 INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 

impossible : wherefore Bishop M'llvaine asserts that the 
righteousness of the justified man can no more be increased 
than that of the Beloved, in whom he is accepted. On 
the contrary, according to Catholic doctrine, the just man, 
by faithfully corresponding with grace already received, 
becomes more pleasing to God, receives more intimate and 
abundant communications of grace, and is advanced in 
sanctity and perfection. Hooker, however, has led Bishop 
M'llvaine into error, by asserting that in our divinity the 
first receipt of grace is the first justification : the increase 
thereof the second justification — such is not our language. 
The progress of the just in the exercise of virtue is 
likened in the Scripture to the gradual increase of light, 
from the morning dawn to the meridian blaze. " The 
path of the just," says the wise man, " as a shining light, 
goeth forward, and increaseth unto perfect day."* This 
is conformable to what is witnessed in the lives of the ser- 
vants of God. Their compunction for sin becomes more 
intense ; their zeal for the glory of God more ardent ; their 
love of God more perfect; their charity for their neigh- 
bour more tender ; the light of their works daily shines 
with greater brightness, and the flame of their devotion 
communicates the warmth of divine love to the lukewarm 
and cold. No one can question that such progress in vir- 
tue has uniformly marked the career of the saints, who 
having practised in retirement the virtues more immedi- 
ately regarding their own sanctification, were urged for- 
ward by the charity of Christ to gain sinners to his love. 
Can we doubt that they were daily more acceptable to God, 
in proportion to the intenseness of their compunction and 
the ardor of their love ? Does it not show forth, in an ad- 

* Prov.iv. 18. 



INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 175 

mirable manner, the Divine wisdom and goodness, that by- 
new sacrifices for the glory of God, and new triumphs 
over themselves, they constantly acquired new graces, 
which prepared them for greater trials ? This is manifest 
in the life of the patriarch Abraham. God called him 
forth from his country and his kindred ; and this just man, 
living by faith, went forth in obedience to the divine com- 
mand, and abode in a strange land, with entire dependence 
on the will and providence of Him in whom he believed. 
He received afterwards the assurance that his race would 
be in number like the stars of heaven, and he believed it, 
although it was naturally impossible, considering his ad- 
vanced age and that of Sara : and his faith was reputed to 
him unto justice. The righteousness which he already 
had was confirmed and increased ; and a new attestation was 
divinely given of his acceptance with God. But a sub- 
limer exercise of faith was yet required of him. He was 
ordered to immolate Isaac ; and thus was his paternal 
affection, and his trust in the divine promises, subjected to 
the severest trial. His faith triumphed. He ascended the 
mount, leading the loved son by his side, and prepared the 
wood, and bound the victim, and raised the arm to immo- 
late him : when the angel of God withheld him from con- 
summating the act, assuring him that he had, by his faith 
and obedience, merited peculiar blessings. The promises are 
renewed with an oath: " By my own self have I sworn, 
saith the Lord ; because thou hast done this thing, and 
hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake : I will 
bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of 
heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore : thy seed 
shall possess the gates of their enemies. And in thy seed 
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou 



176 INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 

hast obeyed my voice."* " Was not Abraham our father 
justified by works," asks St. James, "offering up Isaac 
his son upon the altar ? Seest thou that faith did co-operate 
with his works : and by works faith was made perfect ? 
And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying : Abraham believed 
God, and it was reputed to him unto justice, and he was 
called the friend of God."t As he was already just, by 
the declaration of St. Paul, his justification here must 
mean an increase of justice, whereby he became, in a 
stricter sense than before, the friend of God. 

In numberless passages of the New Testament, we are 
exhorted to advance in the path of perfection, by the ex- 
ercise of good works. St. Paul, in his epistle to the Ephe- 
sians, declares the diversity of gifts and graces in the 
various classes and individuals in the Church : "To every 
one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the 
giving of Christ ;"J and he states that the hierarchy is 
divinely established " for the perfecting of the saints, for 
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of 
Christ : until we all meet into the unity of faith, and of 
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, 
unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ, that 
.... doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow 
up in him who is the head, Christ."§ There is. then, a 
spiritual growth in the just man : he passes from infancy 
to mature age; whilst corresponding with grace he receives 
new gifts, by which his growth in Christ is promoted. St. 
Peter, on this account, exhorts the faithful " to grow in 
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ."|| Their efforts are necessary, for God does not 

* Gen. xxii. 16. f James ii. 21. $ Eph. iv. 7, 

§ Ibidem 12. || 2 Peter iii. 18. 



INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 177 

encourage torpor and tepidity, but aids and strengthens the 
humble and diligent. 

St. Paul declares his own untiring efforts to attain to 
the perfection of Christian virtue, and to its reward in the 
heavenly kingdom : " Not," says he, " as though I had 
already attained, or were already made perfect; but I fol- 
low after, if I may by any means apprehend, wherein I 
am also apprehended by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not 
count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do : 
forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth 
myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, 
to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ 
Jesus."* Even he, although favoured with an extraordi- 
nary vocation, did not believe himself to have instantly 
attained to perfection ; but he felt that his own constant 
efforts, in correspondence with grace, were necessary for 
its attainment. Jesus Christ had mercifully placed him in 
the career, and it was his duty to follow after, and stretch 
forward incessantly to the goal. Hence he labored more 
than all the rest ; not, however, he alone, but the grace of 
God in him and with him. Whilst his heart glowed with 
holy zeal, and his tongue darted heavenly fire, can we 
doubt that he was daily more and more acceptable to God, 
to whom he was approaching, and in whom he was finally 
to rest, in ineffable communion ? 

That an increase of graces should depend on our fidelity 
in corresponding with grace already received, is conforma- 
ble to the parable of the talents, wherein the divine econo- 
my is represented. The talent which the slothful servant 
neglected to employ is taken from him, and given to him 
who had ten talents, and who by their useful employment 

* Phil. iii. 12. 



178 INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 

had proved himself worthy of greater gifts. Nothing is 
taken from the gratuitous character of grace, when that 
fidelity, which is itself the fruit of grace, is believed to de- 
serve a higher degree of grace, according to the order which 
God has freely established. He thereby encourages his 
servants to co-operate strenuously with grace, and rewards 
their obedience, without at all dividing with them his glory. 
If it is objected that we are thus led to confide in ourselves, 
to ascribe to ourselves the gifts of grace, and rather to cal- 
culate the number of our devotional exercises, and good 
works, than to look to the cross of Christ for grace and sal- 
vation, we most emphatically deny the consequence. 

It is in God we put our trust, who, as he began a good 
work in us, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.* 
Although " we can do all things in him who strengthens 
us," it is, " not that we are sufficient to think any thing 
of ourselves, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from 
God."t With fear and trembling we have been taught to 
work out our salvation ; for it is God " who worketh in 
us both to will and to accomplish, according to his good 
wiil. 9, | With the Psalmist we cry : " Not to us, O Lord, 
not to us, but to thy name give glory. "§ We make no 
calculations of the number of our works, and build not our 
hopes upon their multitude : but we know that it behoves 
us to run so that we may obtain the prize, and, forgetting 
the space already passed over, to stretch forward towards 
the goal. Not esteeming ourselves secure of the attain- 
ment of the heavenly crown, we feel deeply the necessity 
of increased exertion. Therefore do we with redoubled 
efforts strive to enter by the narrow gate, lest with the 

* Phil. i. 6. f 2 Cor. iii. 5. 

* Phil. ii. 12. § Ps. cxiii. 



INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 179 

slothful and tepid we be excluded. It is necessary for us 
to be instant in prayer :* and to be diligent in the exercise of 
good works in order to make our calling and election sure.t 
If a consciousness of corresponding with divine grace to 
the best of our ability, although with much imperfection, 
affords us confidence, it is accompanied with a deep sense 
of our manifold offences, and a fear lest we should become 
reprobate. Such a confidence is grounded on the merits 
and grace of our Redeemer, and is commended in many- 
passages of Holy Writ : " Tribulation worketh patience ; 
and patience trial; and trial hope: and hope confoundeth 
not."J The Apostle St. Paul exhorted the Hebrews who 
had endured much for the Gospel, to persevere, in the con- 
fidence of eternal retribution : " Do not therefore lose your 
confidence, which hath a great reward."§ St. John like- 
wise animates us to perseverance by the hope of this 
reward : " He that is just let him be justified still : and he 
that is holy let him be sanctified still. Behold, I come 
quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every man 
according to his works. "|| 

The righteousness of Christ, which is the meritorious 
or procuring cause of justification, is doubtless perfect: 
but it is wrong to confound it with our justification, for the 
effect should be distinguished from its cause. Our justice 
and sanctity is imperfect. Some are infants, who, although 
nourished only with milk, are yet capable of advancing 
" unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the 
fulness of Christ."^" " We are by baptism," writes Dr. 
Pusey, "brought into a state of salvation or justification, 
(for the words are thus far equivalent,) a state into which 

* Rom. xii. 12. f 2 Peter i. 10. * Rom. v. 3. 

§ Heb. x. 35. || Apoc. xxii. 11. % Eph. iv. 13; 



180 INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 

we were brought of God's free mercy alone without works, 
but in which having been placed, we are to « work out our 
salvation with fear and trembling,' through the indwelling 
Spirit of 'God,' working in us to will and to do of his 
good pleasure' ; a state admitting of degrees according to 
the degree of sanctification — (although the first act whereby 
we were brought into it did not ;) a state admitting of 
relapses and recoveries, but which is weakened by every 
relapse, injured by lesser, destroyed for the time by 
grievous sin ; and after such sin, recovered with difficulty, 
in proportion to the greatness of the sin, and the degree of 
its wilfulness and of the grace withstood."* Speaking of 
Cornelius, he says : " as the prayers, the almsgiving, the 
fasting of Cornelius were the fruit of faith in God, and of 
the guidance of His Spirit, the imparting of grace after 
grace has nothing to do with the question of human fitness. 
It is but God's ordinary method of dealing with us to pro- 
portion His subsequent gifts to the use which we have 
made of those before bestowed."! 

Mr. Newman likewise avows Catholic principles on this 
point. "Christians," he says, " are justified by the com- 
munication of an inward, most sacred, and most myste- 
rious gift. From the very time of Baptism, they are tem- 
ples of the Holy Ghost. This is what is common to all. 
The fact that we are the Temple of God does not admit 
of more or less. Righteousness then, considered as the 
state of being God's temple, cannot be increased, but con- 
sidered as the divine glory which that state implies, it can 
be increased, as the pillar of cloud which guided the Isra- 
elites could become more or less bright. Justification 
being acceptableness with God, all beings who are justified 

* Letter pp. 54. 55. f Tract 67 on Baptism, p. 176. 



INCREASE OF JUSTICE. 181 

differ from all who are not, in their very condition. In 
this sense, it is as absurd to speak of our being more justi- 
fied, as of life, or colour, or any other abstract idea, 
increasing. But when we compare the various orders of 
just and acceptable beings with one another, we see that 
though they all are in God's favour, some may be more 
pleasant, acceptable, righteous, than others, that is, may 
have more of the light of God's countenance shed on them ; 
in this sense their justification does admit of increase and 
degrees, and whether we say justification depends on faith 
or on obedience', in the same degree that faith or obedience 
grows, so does justification. And again, as Holy Com- 
munion conveys a more awful presence of God, than Holy 
Baptism, so must it be the instrument of a higher justifi- 
cation."* Melancthon had long since acknowledged that 
our action should be united with the gifts of God, which 
it preserves, and whereof it merits an increase.! Thus 
has the Catholic doctrine on this point received the homage 
of men separated from the communion of the Church. 
It is besides evidently conformable to reason enlightened 
by faith to believe, that the servants of God should advance 
in holiness by each new act of devotion and love, and it is 
a powerful incentive to earnest exertion in the performance 
of good works. 

* Lect. pp. 168, 169. \ Art. vi. Synt. Gen. p. 21. 

16 



182 



CHAPTER XV. 



MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN, 



The Apostle St. James has declared that " in many 
things we all offend."* Experience gives melancholy- 
evidence of this truth, and furnishes us with proofs of the 
great variety of human offences. No rational being can, 
for a moment, doubt that there is a vast difference between 
the guilt of a lie told for mere amusement, and involving 
no injury to any one, and an atrocious calumny whereby 
an innocent person is seriously injured in his property or 
character. Bishop Hall, however, observes : " some 
offences are more heinous than others, yet all in the malignity 
of their nature are deadly. If we have respect unto the 
infinite mercy of God, and to the object of his mercy — the 
penitent and faithful heart, there is no sin which is not 
venial ; but, in respect to the disorder, there is no sin 
which is not worthy of eternal death. "t The present 
Bishop of Exeter says : " Let it never be absent from our 
minds, that every wilful sin is deadly — and let us beware 
of hardening our own hearts, and corrupting the hearts of 
our brethren — by whispering to ourselves or them which 
sin is more or less deadly than others. That which we 
may deem the least will be deadly enough, if unrepented, to 
work our perdition : — those which we deem the most 
deadly, will, if repented, have been thoroughly washed 

* James iii. 2. •(- Bp. Hall's works, ix. p. 57. 



MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 183 

away in the blood of our Redeemer."* The sixteenth 
Article of the Church of England says that "not every 
deadly sin, willingly committed after Baptism is sin against 
the Holy Ghost and unpardonable ;" whereon Bishop 
Beveridge observes " every deadly sin means every sin, 
for every sin is deadly. "t Bishop Bull, however, says 
that : " Nowhere in the Gospel is such will of God 
revealed to us, whereby the punishment of eternal damna- 
tion is reserved for the slightest defect of justice which 
might be avoided. "J In this, as well as in other matters, 
the Oxford Divines have adopted the views of this eminent 
writer; and they, accordingly, understand mortal sins to 
be such as " are either done willingly or are of any magni- 
tude.'^ The Presbyterian Catechism states, that " every 
sin, even the least, being against the sovereignty, goodness, 
and holiness of God, and against his righteous law, 
deserveth his wrath and curse, both in this life, and that 
which is to come."|| 

The Catholic doctrine distinguishes mortal from venial 
sin, without regard to the faith of the individual. By 
mortal sin we understand a grievous transgression of divine 
law, such as involves a disregard of the divine authority, a 
preference of the creature, as our end and happiness, to 
the Creator. Venial sin is a slight offence, which does 
not imply the preference of the creature to the Creator, or 
the disregard of divine authority. Murder and adultery, 
are manifestly mortal sins, because directly opposed 
to the positive command of God, and involving the 
violation of the rights of our fellow man in matters 



* In his late charge. f Beveridge on the Articles. 

i Examen Censurae, Resp. ad animadv. xix. § 18. 

§ Tract, No. 71. || Larger Catechism, ii. 152. 



184 MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 

of high importance. Blasphemy and idolatry are 
crimes of great magnitude, against the honor of God. 
Drunkenness and incontinence are mortal sins, implying 
a grievous disorder in one's self, opposed to the dignity of 
human nature, and consequently to the glory of its Crea- 
tor. When wealth is made the primary object of man's 
pursuits, so that he places his whole happiness in its at- 
tainment, the vice of avarice is indulged, which is called 
idolatry, because money becomes the god, the last end and 
supreme happiness of the individual. When pleasure is 
above all other considerations in our mind, and the ruling 
passion of our heart, the belly is styled god ; and no doubt 
can be entertained of the grievous character of the vice, 
since the end of those who indulge it is destruction. The 
vices of the tongue, as well as external actions, may con- 
taminate the soul with mortal guilt. Detractors, who 
wantonly expose the secret frailty of the unfortunate, and 
still more, calumniators, who falsely accuse the innocent, 
are hateful to God. Perjury is mortal ; and the vice of 
swearing is attended with many mortal sins, since he who 
swears to do evil, outrages the sanctity of God, by making 
him the voucher for crime, and he who swears rashly, 
oftentimes exposes himself to the manifest danger of 
swearing falsely. The affections of the heart may be 
grievously criminal. When the eye has lighted on an ob- 
ject of temptation, if corrupt desire be cherished, vice 
already defiles the soul. When hatred rankles in the 
breast, and prompts to deeds of blood, the man is a mur- 
derer long before he has pointed the dagger to a brother's 
breast. Mortal sin is oftentimes committed in things 
which to the world's eye seem trivial. A neglect of posi- 
tive duty towards those of one's household, is a virtual 
denial of the faith, which makes the Christian professor 



MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 185 

worse than an infidel: an omission of the exercise of 
charity, in circumstances when it is imperative, subjects us 
to a sentence of eternal condemnation : a feeling of envy- 
may make us associates as well as imitators of the fallen 
angel. 

Venial sin is, as we have said, a slight transgression of 
the divine law. God forbid, however, that we should view 
lightly whatever is in any way opposed to the law of God ! 
What faith teaches us is, that in the actual order of things 
there are some offences, which, according to the decrees 
which God has made, are not punishable with eternal tor- 
ments. If a slight feeling of anger is cherished without 
any disposition to revenge, or any expression of contempt, 
it does not subject us to hell fire. If a hasty word escape 
our lips, not calculated to wound deeply the feelings of our 
neighbour, the offence of God is not to be pronounced 
deadly, although even an idle word is a subject of scrutiny 
at the last day. The occasional wanderings of the mind 
in prayer, when diligence is not used to recall it to God ; 
the murmurings of the heart under the severe visitations 
of providence, without any rebellion against his will ; the 
slight impatience so often witnessed on the bed of sickness, 
are imperfections and venial sins not punishable with 
eternal death. 

We are forced to admit this distinction of sins, not only 
because reason shudders at the idea of eternal torments in- 
flicted for a puerile disobedience, a thoughtless word, an 
inadvertent glance ; but because so we have learned from 
our Christian ancestors, who, as far back as the days of 
St. Augustine and St. Cyprian, acknowledged their daily 
sins, and understood of them the petition which even the 
just daily pronounce: " forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive them that trespass against us." Besides the Scrip- 

16* 



186 MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 

tures denounce wo to sinners guilty of certain vices : 
" Wo to the man by whom scandal cometh." They de- 
clare that they who commit certain crimes shall not possess 
the kingdom of God. They threaten some with the worm 
that never dies, and with the fire that is never extinguish- 
ed. Other sins are in danger of a punishment less than 
hell fire : idle words must be accounted for, but are not de- 
nounced in terms so alarming : and offences, surely not of 
a grievous character, are ascribed to all men. Shall we 
say of the Apostles that they in many things offended 
mortally ? Shall we say that each of them daily broke the 
commandments of God in thought, word, and deed, and 
that each offence deserved eternal death ? How, then, could 
St. Paul say : " I am not conscious to myself of any thing?"* 
The natural consequence of the denial of the distinction 
of sins is, that all sins being considered deadly, and each 
man being persuaded that he cannot avoid falling into some 
sins daily, he may yield, as if through unavoidable neces- 
sity, and rely on faith for the covering of his sins. 

The Catholic doctrine, on the contrary, stimulates to 
great purity of life. Although venial sin is easily com- 
mitted through partial inadvertence, surprise, and frailty, 
yet no one is under any necessity of committing the 
slightest venial sin. If the just man fall often into slight 
transgressions, it is for want of due vigilance and earnest 
prayer. The sins of the tongue are those into which we 
are most easily betrayed: " If any man," says St. James, 
" offend not in word the same is a perfect man."t Yet if 
with David, we pray that God may place a watch before our 

* 1 Cor. iv. 4. Newland ventures to write : " Paul and Barnabas 
parted in anger about a trifle." Analysis, art. xv. p. 205. 
f James, iii. 2. 



MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 187 

mouth, and a door round about our lips that we may not 
sin with our lips, divine grace will not be denied us. To 
excite vigilance we are reminded that " he that contemneth 
small things shall fall by little and little."* The fear of 
mortal sin is calculated to prevent the habitual indulgence 
of any venial attachment. We shall not utter an untruth 
in jest, lest it lead to a serious lie: we shall not wound 
charity by a harsh word, lest it betray us into grievous in- 
sult : we shall not take the smallest trifle belonging to our 
neighbour, lest it lead to great wrong. 

Bishop M'llvaine treats lightly the various means indi- 
cated by our divines whereby venial sin may be pardoned : 
but he should know that little importance is attached by us 
to the external means, unless as serving to excite internal 
and corresponding dispositions. The use of holy water 
may avail to such as say in the penitential spirit of the 
Psalmist : " Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall 
be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made 
whiter than snow."t The striking of the breast, if 
accompanied by compunction like that of the publican, 
can cancel these slighter faults, nay, can serve to justifica- 
tion, before the actual reception of the Sacrament of 
Penance. The confession of sins made at the beginning 
of Mass, or in private devotions by the faithful, who hum- 
bly acknowledge, before God and his heavenly courtj that 
they have sinned through their own fault, may propitiate 
God, without a sacramental confession of these slighter 
offences. The absolution given immediately before Com- 
munion by the Priest to the communicants in general, may 



* Eccl. xix. 1. f Ps. I. 

t " It is in an address to Almighty God in his heavenly court,"- 
Tract No. 75. 



188 MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 

avail to the remission of the faults which might oppose the 
full influence of the divine Eucharist : and in many other 
ways God may bestow on his repentant children pardon of 
these slight offences : nor will any one mock the simplicity 
of the means, who considers the reproach addressed to the 
Syrian general for scorning to bathe in the waters of Jordan ; 
or who reflects that the power of God is displayed in favor 
of the humble. When Bishop M'llvaine represents St. 
Thomas as saying: " One deed of charity can blot out all 
venial sins even without the least thought about them ;"* 
he mistakes for a charitable deed, the act of charity, which 
is an interior exercise of divine love, the embracing of God 
with the affections of the soul. This, certainly, "may 
efface all venial sins, withdut the actual thought of them," 
because in the sincere love of God, particularly when ar- 
dent, is implied the detestation of all that displeases him. 
Bishop M'llvaine must be little acquainted with the lan- 
guage of our theologians, to have rendered as he has done 
the words which he cites as of St. Thomas : " Unus actus 
charitatis potest delere omnia venialia sine actuali cogita- 
tione eorum." As he has not favoured us with a reference, 
I am unable to verify the quotation ; but several passages 
of the writings of this illustrious schoolman present his 
views in a clear manner. Treating of the Eucharist, he 
says that it remits venial sins, inasmuch as " not only 
habitual charity, but its act is excited in this Sacrament, 
and by this act venial sins are remitted." "Charity," he 
repeats " by its act takes away venial sins."t Speaking 
elsewhere of the remission of venial sins, he says : "a 
certain virtual displeasure for having committed them is 

* Oxford Divinity, p. 257. Note. 

| 3 par. qu. lxxix. art iv. Resp. et ad tertium. 



MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 189 

necessary, as for instance when any one is moved towards 
God and things divine with the affection of his heart, so 
that whatever might present itself to delay this motion 
would cause him displeasure, and he would grieve for 
having committed these sins although he would not 
actually think thereof."* " The fervor of charity virtually 
implies displeasure at venial sins."t In another passage 
quoted by Bishop M'llvaine, St. Thomas says that the 
various devout usages which he specifies serve for the re- 
mission of venial sin " when performed with reverence for 
God," and elsewhere he further explains his meaning, 
" inasmuch as they incline the soul to penance, "J and ex- 
cite charity. § 

Newland represents us as holding that venial sins " are of 
so trifling a nature, that they may be expiated by some tem- 
poral infliction." (I We do not consider them trifling unless 
compared with the enormity of mortal sin. No temporal 
infliction expiates them, independently of the great atone- 
ment of the Cross ; but to the penitent pardon of them is 
granted on easier conditions than accompany the remission 
of mortal sin. It is wrong to apply to these slighter sins, 
as Newland does, the curse pronounced in the Mosaic law 
against " every one that abideth not in all things that are 
written in the book of the law to do them :"H for " Christ 
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law."** " We are 
not under the law, but under grace," and our offences are 
to be estimated by their intrinsic deformity, and opposition 
to the divine maxims of the Gospel. " The wages of sin 

* 3 par. qr. lxxxvii. art. 1. Resp. f Ibidem ad tertium. 
t Ibidem art. iii. ad prlmum. § Ibidem, ad tertium. 

|| Analysis, p. 208. J Gal. iii. 10. ** Ibidem, 13. 



190 MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN. 

is death"* according to the teaching of the Apostle, who, 
however, speaks of grievous sins, — of things whereof the 
converted christians were ashamed.t It is a perversion of 
Holy Writ to argue thence that the slightest act of im- 
patience is punishable with eternal death. With similar 
disregard of the obvious meaning of the inspired writer, 
the words of St. James are objected: u whosoever shall 
keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become 
guilty of all. "J The Apostle is speaking of grievous 
crimes, not of imperfections or light sins, as is evident 
from the reason he assigns : " For he that said, Thou shalt 
not commit adultery, said also, Thou shalt not kill. 
Now if thou do not commit adultery, but shalt kill : thou 
art become a transgressor of the law " The inference of 
Newland from the passages above quoted is, "that all op- 
position to the commands of God, is worthy of death." 
We need only say in reply, that what are termed venial 
sins are rather deviations from the strict command, than 
acts in opposition to it, or that the opposition does not re- 
gard the main object of the command, and is not contem- 
plated by the texts which are objected. The distinction, 
then, of venial sins from mortal, which is conformable to 
reason, and to the teaching of the primitive Church, re- 
mains unshaken. The justified man may fall into various 
slight offences, which render him less pleasing to God, 
without incurring the divine wrath, which is provoked by 
mortal sin. Moses, although he sinned in the mode of 
performing the miracle of drawing waters from the rock, 
was still the servant of God, but his fault was visited by 
the denial of entrance into the promised land. 

* Rom. vi. 23. f Ibidem 21. * James ii. 10. 



19i 



CHAPTER XVI 



INDULGENCES. 



Nothing is less understood, or more misrepresented, 
than the Catholic doctrine on Indulgences. The rise of 
the Novatian heresy, in the early part of the third century, 
led the Church to adopt fixed rules of penitential disci- 
pline, that whilst resisting the excessive severity which 
denied pardon to the fallen, she might not relax morals by 
granting forgiveness on too easy conditions. The peni- 
tential works, which before that time had been undertaken 
by private zeal, or prescribed by the authority of indivi- 
dual prelates, were thenceforth enjoined by general law, 
and the period of their performance determined, according 
to the variety of sins. For seven, ten, fourteen years, 
and sometimes until the extremity of life, penitents were 
engaged in their course of public penance, after the ter- 
mination of which they were restored to the privileges of 
Christian communion. It was, however, deemed expe- 
dient to empower the bishops to diminish the time, as the 
fervor or weakness of the penitent might demand, and to 
restore him by Indulgence to the communion of the Church. 
" A power," says Newland, " was given to all bishops by 
the Council of Nice, to shorten the time, and to relax the 
severity of those canons. The favor thus granted was 
called Indulgence"* 

* Analysis of Burnet on Article xiv. p. 198. 



192 INDULGENCES. 

Besides the Council of Nice,* the Councils of Ancyra,t 
Laodicea,J and Carthage§ sanctioned this usage. This 
favor was granted not only in regard to the disposition of 
the penitents themselves, but sometimes in consideration 
of the personal merit of those who became intercessors in 
their behalf. To such as had made an intrepid confession 
of the faith before the public tribunals in times of perse- 
cution, the honorable title of Confessors was given ; whilst 
others, who had suffered torments on account of the faith, 
were called Martyrs, even although they survived the 
trial. These martyrs and confessors were justly dear to 
the Church ; they were loved and honored for their glori- 
ous confession; and accordingly their intercession was 
all-powerful in obtaining a mitigation of penance for their 
weaker brethren. Already in the days of Tertullian, at 
the close of the second century, sinners " were wont to 
implore peace from the martyrs in prison." || The fre- 
quency of their petitions soon, however, degenerated into 
an abuse, against which the vigorous pen of St. Cyprian 
was employed. Whilst he condemned the facility with 
which these privileges were sometimes exercised k> favor 
of apostates, who had given no proofs of their compunc- 
tion for crimes so enormous, he admitted that in cases of 
death they should hold good. " When," he says, " some 
of those who had fallen, {in persecution,) either of them- 
selves, or at the instigation of others, boldly demanded 
and attempted by violence to enjoy the peace promised 
them by the martyrs and confessors, I wrote twice to the 
clergy on this subject, and ordered them, that if any should 
depart out of life, after having received a letter from the 

* Can. xii. f Can. v. i Can. ii. <§ Cap. lxxv. 

|| L. 1. ad Martyr, cap. 1. 



INDULGENCES. 193 

martyrs, having previously made their confession, and re- 
ceived the imposition of hands unto penance, they should 
be sent to the Lord with the peace promised them by the 
martyrs."* This peace, then, not only implied the exter- 
nal communion of the Church whilst living, but a removal 
of that obligation of penance which remained after con- 
fession and absolution, and which prevented the vision 
of God. St. Cyprian, elsewhere speaking on the same 
subject, says: " We indeed believe that the merits of the 
martyrs and works of just men have great force with the 
Judge, but when the day of judgment shall come, when 
at the end of time and of the world, the Christian people 
shall stand before his tribunal. "t This he says, condemning 
the facility which caused the entire neglect of penitential 
satisfaction on the part of apostates ; but not denying the 
force of the merits of the martyrs in cases where there 
was a just cause for applying them, as when death sum- 
moned sinners to that dread tribunal, before they had done 
sufficient penance. 

In mitigating the severity of canonical penance, the 
bishops used the power of loosing, which, equally as that 
of binding, had been given them in the persons of the 
Apostles ; and in this they imitated the benign indulgence 
of St. Paul to the penitent Corinthian, pardoning in the 
person of Christ whatever needed pardon.| Their act 
was directed to the relaxation of the canonical law ; but 
by consequence it removed the debt of temporal punish- 

* Ep. xiv. 

| L. de lapsis. " Credimus quidem posse apud judicem plurimum 
martyrum merita, et opera justor urn." 

* 2 Cor. ii. 10. 

17 



194 INDULGENCES. 

ment, to discharge which the canonical penance was en- 
joined. This was not a mere disciplinary regulation, in- 
tended only to terrify sinners, or to repair scandal ; it was 
truly to appease God and to satisfy his justice. Cyprian, 
speaking of the penitential exercises to which the sinner 
should devote himself, says : " The Lord is to be implored, 
the Lord is to be appeased by our satisfaction."* Thus 
in granting the Indulgence, the bishops freed the sinner 
from this necessity of satisfaction, pardoning him by 
divine authority. Sometimes the pardon was only partial, 
a portion of the penance and satisfaction being remitted ; 
sometimes it was entire, or plenary, the whole obligation 
of canonical penance being taken away. The partial In- 
dulgences were designated according to the length of time 
abridged, forty days, seven years, or a longer period, as 
assigned to various sins in the penitential canons. 

The remission of sin was not granted by an Indulgence, 
for it was always the fixed principle of the Church that 
this should be sacramental, and in the form of a sentence 
in the tribunal of penance. St. Basil had taught that " we 
must necessarily confess our sins to those to whom the 
mysteries of God are entrusted ;"t and the practice of all 
preceding ages shows that this was a necessary conse- 
quence of the power of forgiving and retaining sins grant- 
ed by Christ to his apostles.J The temporal punishment, 
which oftentimes remains to be endured after the forgive- 



* "Dominus orandus est, Dominus nostra satisfactione placandus 
est." L. de lapsis. 

f In Reg. brev. resp. ad qu. cclxxxviii. 

$ See Theologia Dogmatica, vol. iii. p. 338. 



INDULGENCES. 195 

ness of sin, was alone remitted by an Indulgence, as it 
took the place of the performance of canonical penance. 

The merits of Jesus Christ have always been regarded 
as the inexhaustible source whence all graces flow, and in 
virtue whereof all power is exercised. The bishops offered 
these to divine justice in satisfaction for the debt, from 
which, in the name of Christ, they released the sinner. 
Yet a motive for the exercise of the power being drawn 
from the sufferings of the martyrs, who at an early period 
interceded to obtain it, the Church deemed it no deroga- 
tion to the merits of Christ, which she proclaims to be 
infinite, to offer at the same time, in behalf of her weak 
members, the sufferings and merits of the saints in con- 
junction with those of our Redeemer. This was done, not 
to supply any deficiency in the atonement of Calvary, but 
as a motive for its application. The merits of the saints 
take also the character of a partial ransom, deriving its 
value from the cross. The ardor of their love, their pa- 
tience in suffering, their intense compunction, have re- 
ceived from divine munificence a reward exceedingly 
great : but God is not displeased when his Church places 
before him the severity of their penitential inflictions, and 
the intenseness of their sufferings for the faith, to supply 
the deficiencies of their weaker brethren. The stainless 
Mother, whose very soul a sword of sorrow pierced, may 
be presented, that her unmerited suffering may plead for 
our want of courage to endure what our sins deserve : the 
austerity of the Precursor, sanctified from his mother's 
womb, may supply our inability to mortify our appetite, 
as becomes penitents : the labors and sufferings of Paul, 
" in prisons, in stripes above measure, in hunger and 
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness," may 
be offered in our behalf. We are members of one body, 



196 INDULGENCES. 

and claim the benefits of the mysterious union, which 
makes all one in Christ.* 

An essential condition required in whoever wishes to 
obtain an Indulgence is, that he be in the state of grace ; 
for no one, not already justified, can obtain a release from 
the debt of temporal punishment, which supposes the guilt 
and eternal punishment remitted. Contrition and confes- 
sion are expressed in all grants of Indulgences as necessary 
conditions, whereto is often joined the reception of the 
Holy Eucharist, the offering up of prayer in some particular 
church, for the wants of the universal Church, and the 
exercise of special acts of piety or charity. During some 
centuries, Indulgences were granted to those who contri- 
buted to the Crusades, to rescue their Christian brethren 
from Turkish oppression, or who aided in the erection of 

* The Tract No. 79 thus explains an Indulgence : — " There is one 
other means of escaping the penalties due to sin in Purgatory, which 
may briefly be mentioned, viz : by the grant of indulgences ; these 
are dispensed on the following theory. Granting that a certain fixed 
temporal penalty is attached to every act of sin, in such case, it would 
be conceivable, that, as the multitude of Christians did not discharge 
their total debt in this life, so some extraordinary holy men might 
more than discharge it. Such are the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, 
Ascetics, and the like, who have committed few sins, and have under- 
gone extreme labours and sufferings, voluntary and involuntary. This 
being supposed, the question rises, what becomes of the overplus ; 
and then there seems a fitness that what is not needed for themselves, 
should avail for the brethren who are still debtors. It is accordingly 
stored together with Christ's merits, in a kind of treasure-house, to 
be dispensed according to the occasion, and that at the discretion of 
the Church. The application of this treasure is called an Indulgence, 
which stands instead of a certain time of penance in this life, or for 
the period, whatever it be, to which that time is commuted in Purga- 
tory." 



INDULGENCES. 197 

churches, and in other public necessities of the Church. 
Such offerings, made from motives of charity and religion, 
were, doubtless, just matter for granting Indulgences, al- 
though — in common with most other things — liable to many- 
abuses, which eventually led to their entire abandonment. 

Although the controversy about Indulgences was the 
main spring of the revolution produced by Luther, the 
doctrine of the Church on this subject was one of the last 
treated of in the Council of Trent, and the decree was 
couched in terms of great reserve and moderation. " Since 
the power of granting Indulgences has been given by 
Christ to the Church, and from the earliest period she has 
used this power, divinely given her, the Holy Synod 
teaches and orders that the use of Indulgences, which is 
very salutary to the Christian people, and is approved of 
by the authority of holy councils, should be retained; and 
she condemns with anathema those who either assert that 
they are useless, or who deny that the power of granting 
them resides in the Church."* At the same time, mea- 
sures were adopted to remedy abuses, and all just objection 
was thereby taken away. Mr. Newman, in his effort to 
reconcile the English Articles with Catholic faith, con- 
tends that the XXII. Article rejecting pardons, regards 
the abuse of the power, rather than the power itself. 
" The pardons" he says, " spoken of in the Article, are 
large and reckless indulgences from the penalties of sin 
obtained on money payments. "t 

The power of granting Indulgences is manifestly de- 
duced from the promise of Christ to Peter to give him the 
keys of his kingdom, with authority to bind and loose : 
" I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 

* Sess. xxv. deer, de indulgentiis, f Tract No. 90, 1st edit. 

17* 



198 INDULGENCES. 

And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be 
bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose 
upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven."* The keys 
of a kingdom are the known Scriptural emblem of the 
highest authority under the Sovereign,! and the power of 
loosing and binding must consequently be commensurate 
therewith, and imply general authority. The bonds of 
sin are loosed in the Sacrament of Penance; but as a tem- 
poral punishment often remains after the remission of the 
guilt, there can be no doubt that the sinner may be released 
from the punishment for just causes, by the judgment and 
act of him whose acts Christ has promised to ratify. The 
same is to be said proportionably of the acts of all the 
Apostles, and of their successors: but as order is essential 
to the Church, the exercise of the episcopal power must 
be subject to those restrictions which General Councils or 
the Vicegerent of Christ has established. The salutary 
influence of Indulgences is manifest, since the faithful are 
moved thereby to the frequent and devout reception of the 
Sacraments, to prayer, to works of charity and zeal, and 
to the exercise of every Christian virtue. The complaint 
of Jeremy Taylor and others, that a relaxation of ecclesi- 
astical discipline must ensue from the grant of Indulgences, 
comes with a bad grace from those who have utterly set 
aside all the penitential canons, and who deny altogether 
the necessity of works of penance. The assertion that it 
foments sin, betrays entire ignorance of its nature and its 
influence. The prospect of pardon to the penitent sinner, 
at whatsoever time he may return to duty, may be abused ; 

* Matt. xvi. 19. 

t See Bloomfield in locum ; also my treatise on (i the Primacy of 
the Apostolic See," p. 22. 



INDULGENCES. 199 

and yet God has not judged fit to withhold it. Shall the 
Church be thought to encourage sin, when she offers cer- 
tain spiritual supplies on the express condition, that none 
but the contrite of heart can enjoy them ? 

An Indulgence remits no sin : much less is it — as often 
has been alleged — a pardon for sins past, present, and to 
come. When an Indulgence is granted, which may be 
received at the hour of death, on invoking the saving name 
of Jesus, or submitting to death as a punishment from 
God, no anticipated pardon is given of the sins which 
may in the mean time be committed : but in the hope of 
the pious disposition of the soul at that awful crisis, a 
succour is offered to his weakness, on condition of an act 
suited to his situation, and of his sincere repentance for 
all past transgressions. Hence Urban II., in the Council 
of Clermont, in the year 1095, qualified the Indulgences 
offered to the Crusaders to be obtained in death, by limiting 
them to such as should depart truly penitent.* The abandon- 
ment of sin, with true sorrow of heart for having committed 
it, is, in all cases, an indispensable condition for obtaining 
an Indulgence, which consequently strikes at the very root 
of sin, whilst it otherwise encourages the exercise of good 
works of every kind. 

The Protestant theory of plenary justification by faith 
gives the assurance of entire forgiveness, the moment the 
individual is fully persuaded that the justice of Christ is 
imputed to him : Catholic faith admits such plenary 
remission in Baptism, when received with faith and com- 
punction : but it teaches that the same abundant pardon is 
not ordinarily granted to the baptized penitent. The guilt 
and eternal punishment are taken away in the Sacrament 

* " Qui in vera poenitentia decesserint." 



200 INDULGENCES. 

of Penance : the temporal punishment, if not satisfied for, 
or endured, may be released by indulgences, granted to 
true penitents on condition of the performance of special 
good works. It requires little discrimination to judge 
which system presents greater facilities of pardon, and 
greater incentives to sin : that which says : Believe, and 
you are at once entirely freed from sin ; or this which tells 
us : Repent, do penance, and labor to atone for your trans- 
gressions ; while at the same time it offers the merits of 
Jesus Christ, and those of his devoted servants, to supply 
our deficiency. 



201 



CHAPTER XVII. 



PURGATORY. 



The Catholic belief of Purgatory is confined to the 
existence of a state of purgation antecedent to the day of 
Judgment, wherein imperfect souls, not defiled with mortal 
sin, are detained until God is pleased to admit them into 
his glory. Luther in the dispute at Leipzic said: " Since 
I believe firmly, yea, I venture to say, I know that there 
is a Purgatory, I am easily persuaded that mention is 
made of it in Scripture." Afterwards, however, he denied 
it. Some Protestant writers of great celebrity have re- 
newed the error of Vigilantius, and maintained that the 
saints are not received into heaven until the general Judg- 
ment, and that in the mean time they are in a state of 
repose, awaiting their beatitude. This is equivalent to a 
general Purgatory for all, since Catholic faith does not 
oblige us to admit any positive punishment or suffering, 
but the temporary privation of the Divine vision, which is 
to be imparted to all the saints after the day of Judgment. 
The words of the Council of Trent are that " there is a 
Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are aided by 
the suffrages of the living, and especially by the acceptable 
sacrifice of the Altar."* Detention is itself a punishment, 
and verifies the words of the canon, wherein mention is 

* Sess. xxv. Deer, de Purg. 



202 PURGATORV. 

made of a debt of temporal punishment to be discharged 
in Purgatory.* The difference between us and the Pro- 
testant divines of whom we have spoken, regards rather 
the lot of the saints, whom we believe, when perfect, to 
pass immediately to bliss, while imperfect souls are 
detained in that middle state. Universalists have rendered 
this Protestant Purgatory still more general, by admitting 
the worst sinners to happiness, after a temporary detention 
in suffering. The Oxford divines have availed themselves 
of the opinion above referred to, in order to recommend 
their sentiments in regard to the remission of sin after 
Baptism, without seeming to adopt the Catholic faith. 
"Who can tell," writes Mr. Newman, "but in God's 
mercy, the time of waiting between death and Christ's 
coming, may be profitable to those who have been his true 
servants here, as a time of maturing that fruit of grace, but 
partly formed in them in this life, a school time of contem- 
plation, as this world is of discipline, of active service. 
Such surely is the force of the Apostle's words, that He 
that hath begun a good work in you, will perform it, until 
the day of Christ — not stopping at death, but carrying it 
into the Resurrection — as if the interval between death and 
His coming, was by no means to be omitted in the process 
of our preparation for heaven. "t The Tract No. 79 says 
in regard to the doctrine of the Council of Trent, " taken 
in the mere letter there is little in it against which we shall 
be able to sustain formal objections." "The Roman 
Church holds that the great majority of Christians die in 
God's favour, yet more or less under the bond of their 
sins. And so far we may unhesitatingly allow to them, or 

* Sess. vi. Can. xxx. de Justificat. 
f Parochial Sermons, pp. 411, 412. 






PURGATORY. 203 

rather we ourselves hold the same, if we hold that after 
Baptism, there is no plenary pardon of sins in this life to 
the sinner, however penitent, such as in Baptism was .once 
vouchsafed to him."* Mr. Newman has subsequently 
endeavoured to reconcile this sentiment with the Articles 
of the Church of England, and says that the doctrine con- 
cerning Purgatory which they condemn is " that the 
punishment of unrighteous Christians is temporary not 
eternal, and that the purification of the righteous is a por- 
tion of the same punishment, together with the supersti- 
tions, and impostures for the sake of gain consequent there- 
upon."! 

The Catholic belief on this point, as on all others, is 
immediately derived from the constant tradition of the 
Church, whereof an authentic evidence is found in the 
ancient and Apostolic practice of offering prayers for the 
departed.^ It is supported by several passages of the Old 
and New Testament ; as, for instance, by the fact record- 
ed in the second book of Macchabees, wherein we learn 
that Judas Macchabeus had sacrifice offered in the temple 
of Jerusalem for the soldiers who had fallen in battle ;§ and 
by the testimony of the Apostle that some shall be saved 
yet so as by fire,|| suffering some loss, and enduring some 
affliction. Two classes of imperfect souls are believed to 
be detained in Purgatory ; those who have not fully satis- 
fied for the temporal punishment due to mortal sin, after 
its forgiveness, and those who have not previously to 
death obtained pardon of venial sin. We do not hold, as 
the Tractarians seem to maintain, that there is no plenary 
pardon for sin committed after Baptism until the day of 



* Tract 79. f Tract 90, § 6, p. 28. * Tract 79. 

§ 2 Mach. xii. 40. || 1 Cor. iii. 15. 



204 PURGATORY. 

Judgment.* We believe that, this plenary pardon is not 
generally granted immediately on repentance, because 
sorrow is seldom perfect, and the Divine Wisdom and 
Justice require a temporal satisfaction to restrain the peni- 
tent, and make him mindful of the grievousness of sin. 
The martyr by his death obtains full remission, on account 
of the ardor of charity, and the union of his individual 
sacrifice with the great victim of salvation : the penitent 
may attain to the same happiness by tears, and prayers, 
and works of penance, inspired by contrition : but the 
tepid Christian, who neglects to manifest and increase 
compunction by such acts, cannot reasonably be supposed 
to obtain the same abundant forgiveness. Therefore it is 
that the Divine Justice detains him for a time from the 
enjoyment of God, and makes him feel the weight of his 
transgressions. St. Cyprian, extolling the happiness of 
the martyrs, who immediately after death pass to the vision 
of God, whilst most Christians need purification by suffer- 
ing for sins which they had not sufficiently atoned for, 
says : " To await pardon is different from attaining at 
once to glory : to be put into prison, and not be liberated 
therefrom, unless the last farthing is paid, is different from 
receiving immediately the reward due to ardent virtue and 
faith : to be tormented with a long continuing pain for 
sins, to be cleansed and purified by fire a long time is 
different from expiating all one's sins by martyrdom."! 
This saint, with the African Fathers generally, speaks of 

* Macknight denies that there is any justification in this life, and 
explains all the Scriptural texts of justification at the second coming 
of Christ. Essay vi. on Justification, § v. This, however, is in 
manifest opposition to the obvious meaning of so many passages 
wherein it is spoken of as a past action. See Tract No. 67. p. 129. 

f Ep. liii. ad Anton. 



PURGATORY. 205 

positive punishment as inflicted on imperfect souls in that 
state of detention, a sentiment, which though not of faith, 
has always widely prevailed in the Church. The Oxford 
divines admit that it " is found from an early age in the 
African Church. " # 

The other class of imperfect souls, whom we believe to 
be detained from the vision of God, is formed of such as 
die guilty of venial sin, unrepented of and unforgiven. 
The facility wherewith even just men fall into venial sin, 
the suddenness of death, in numberless cases, and the im- 
perfection of the dispositions of many, who are aware 
of its approach, leave no doubt that many die without 
detesting venial sin, and obtaining its pardon. To suppose 
it remitted without any sorrow, or other preparation of 
mind, is inconsistent with the general economy of God in 
the remission of sin ; and to say, with the Bishop of Exe- 
ter, that the sin " which we may deem the least will be 
deadly enough, if unrepented, to work our perdition," is 
opposed to our sense of divine mercy. When the servant 
of God has departed from this life with faith, hope and love, 
conscious to himself of no grievous prevarication ; and yet 
in an imperfect state, because he listened to the whisper- 
ings of vanity and self-love, or clung with too much fond- 
ness to life, or loved in death with too great tenderness the 
wife of his bosom, or indulged too anxious a solicitude for 
the future condition of his loved children, — we cannot per- 
suade ourselves that these imperfections and venial offences 
when unrepented of, work his perdition : nor can we hope 
that a soul thus clinging to earthly objects shall at once be 
admitted to the embrace of divine purity, equally as the 
seraphic lover, who, detached from every thing of earth, 
longs to be dissolved, and be with Christ. 

* Tract 79. 
18 



206 rURGATORY. 

The imperfection of human works is acknowledged by 
all. Who is there that has not felt the titillations of vanity ? 
Who is it that has not listened to the whisperings of pride ? 
Who has uniformly rejected the suggestions of ambition? 
I speak of that light tincture of these vices which takes 
from virtuous actions their perfect beauty, and dims their 
lustre, without, however, destroying their character of good 
works. The divine glory is sought by works of zeal ; but 
with this holy feeling is insensibly intermingled a regard for 
our own honor, which we find promoted by our exertions. 
Charity is sincerely exercised towards the distressed, for 
the pure love of Him who bade us love each other : yet 
when it receives public commendation, we too often indulge 
some slight complacency, which, undoubtedly, detracts 
somewhat from the fulness of the reward we otherwise 
would receive. With a view to honor God and secure our 
salvation, we attend the public exercises of religious wor- 
ship : yet perhaps in the most solemn moment, the thought 
of the high opinion of our piety formed by the bystanders 
gratifies us. These imperfections and sins detract much 
from the excellence of virtue : and as God is to judge all 
men according to their works, it is reasonable to suppose 
that some punishment, at least the temporary privation of 
happiness, must await those who have sinned in the many 
ways in which frail man offends. The imperfect cannot 
expect the same reward as their more perfect brethren, who 
with purer zeal and more perfect love, have sought the 
glory of the God of hosts. His eye discerns the motives 
of human action, and he sounds all the depths of the human 
heart, and he purifies by chastisement the child whom he 
prepares for glory. 

Moses, the faithful servant of God, the chosen Mediator 
through whom the Law was given, the wonder-worker and 



PURGATORY. 207 

the prophet, hesitated in the performance of a miracle. 
When striking the rock from which issued water to refresh 
the Israelites, he did not glorify God by that unbounded 
confidence which became him : yet there is no reason to 
suppose that he sinned mortally. Nevertheless lie was 
denied entrance into the land of promise, and only from 
the summit of Nebo, beyond the banks of Jordan, was he 
allowed to view it. Souls freed from the prison of the 
body, naturally tend to God their author, and long for the 
promised inheritance ; but Divine Justice withholds them 
until their imperfections and sins are cancelled. 

The Apostle St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, severely 
rebukes them for certain partialities which tended to 
division and schism. He reminds them that the ministers 
of Religion are all engaged in the work of God : " and 
every man shall receive his own reward according to his 
labour. For we are God's coadjutors, you are God's hus- 
bandry, you are God's building. According to the grace 
of God that is given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid 
the foundation : and another buildeth thereon. But let 
every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For 
other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid ; 
which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this 
foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stub- 
ble : every man's work shall be manifest : for the day of 
the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in 
fire: and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort 
it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built there- 
upon : he shall receive a reward. If any man's work burn, 
he shall suffer loss : but he himself shall be saved, yet so 
as by fire. Know you not that you are the temple of 
God ?"* According to this image of a building — a temple 

* 1 Cor. iii. 8. 



208 PURGATORY. 

— erected on a solid foundation, the workmen who build on 
it stones of great value, adorn it with gold and silver, will 
receive a great reward, when tried by fire it shall resist the 
flame. Men, endued with apostolic zeal, preaching the 
solid doctrines of faith, and labouring to form the faithful 
to the exercise of every virtue, receive from God a great 
recompense for their labors. They who are influenced by 
a zeal less pure and enlightened, and who, though retain- 
ing the foundation, by announcing the true doctrine of 
Christ, nevertheless study their own glory, and indulge 
personal rivalry, are like builders, who raise lowly cot- 
tages, or huts, of wood, hay and stubble, which cannot resist 
the fire. It is much if the builder, or occupant, escape with 
the loss of all he possesses, and of the building. The 
same may be applied to the faithful individually. Works 
of ardent charity and devoted piety are like the gold and 
silver ornaments of a building formed of the solid and pre- 
cious stones of Christian virtue, and will receive an 
abundant reward from God. Those who, retaining the 
faith, and practising the substance of virtue, freely com- 
mit venial offences, erect a building which cannot stand 
the searching flame of God's Judgment. They may be 
saved, but at great risk, and with great loss, and as it were 
escaping from a building in flames. 

There is no rational mode of accounting for the apostolic 
custom of praying for the dead, unless the belief that many 
are in a state in which they can be relieved by the suffra- 
ges of the faithful. The custom is proved by all the 
ancient Liturgies, by the testimonies of Tertullian, Cyprian, 
Cyril of Jerusalem, Chrysostom, Augustine, and the 
Fathers generally, several of whom expressly refer its 



PURGATORY. 209 

origin to the Apostles. * It is admitted and recommended 
by several distinguished prelates of the Church of England, 
among others by Bishop Forbes, who writes: "let not 
the ancient practice of praying, and making oblations for 
the dead, be any more rejected by Protestants as unlawful. 
It is a practice received throughout the universal Church 
of Christ, which did ever believe it both pious and charita- 
ble. Many of the Fathers were of opinion, that some 
light sins, not remitted in this life were forgiven after 
death, by the intercession of the Church in her public 
prayers, and especially those which were offered up in the 
celebration of the tremendous mysteries ; and it is no ab- 
surdity to believe so. The practise of praying for the dead 
is derived, as Chrysostom asserts, from the Apostles. "t 
Calvin himself did not venture to deny that the practice 
existed at least thirteen hundred years before his day, and 
that it was conformable to an instinct of nature prompting 
us to express before God our affection and good wishes for 
the dead.! The Oxford divines admit " the universal and 
apparently apostolical custom of praying for the dead in 
Christ,"§ and ask a minister who objected to it whether he 
has not experienced an instinctive impulse to pray for them ; 
" I would venture to ask any clergyman, I would even ap- 
peal to yourself, if a Parochial minister, whether, when 
you have heard of the death of one of your flock, of whom 
you hoped well, your first impulse has not been to pray to 

* See Theologia Dogmatica, Vol. iv. p. 259. 

•j- Bishop Forbes on Purgatory. 

+ Inst. 1. iii. c. v. §. 10. "Solatium quasrebant, quo sublevarent 
suum moerorem : et inhumanum videbatur non edere coram Deo ali- 
<quod sua? erga mortuos dilectionis testimonium. Ad hunc affectum 
quam sit propensum hominis ingenium omnes experiuntur." 
/ § Tract, No. 79. 

18* 



210 PURGATORY. 

God to make up to the departed whatever had been defi- 
cient in your ministrations ? whether (as Luther did) you 
have not prayed for the perfecting and increased blessed- 
ness of a departed friend or relation, even though you have 
subsequently checked yourself? whether you did not find 
a comfort from that prayer? and whether the dictate of 
human nature, warranted as it is by the early Church, may 
not, after all, be implanted by the God of nature — may not 
be the voice of God within us."* 

The connexion of prayer for the dead with the belief of 
an intermediate state, in which souls are detained for a time 
from the beatific vision of God, is obvious : for it would 
be useless to pray for those who enjoy the delights of the 
divine presence ; and to pray for the damned is useless, 
and inconsistent with the acknowledged principle of Chris- 
tian faith, that their doom is fixed and eternal. When, 
then, the Church in her Liturgy asks of God to give to all 
that have slept in Christ a place of refreshment, light, and 
peace,t she supposes that many are in affliction, darkness, 
and misery. When she implores for them eternal rest, 
she indicates that as yet they have not attained to the re- 
pose of the saints in the kingdom of God. Hence St. 
Cyril of Jerusalem, explaining the Liturgy, says : " We 
pray in fine for all who have departed from life, since we 
believe that the greatest advantage accrues to souls for 
whom the supplication is offered of the holy and tre- 
mendous sacrifice, which is placed on the altar. "J 

Leibnitz says : " it is a most ancient belief of the 
Church, that we are to pray for the dead, and that the 
dead are assisted by our prayers ; and that those who have 

* Tract, No. 77. f Roman Missal, Canon of Mass. 

* Cat. Myst. v. 






PURGATORY. 211 

departed this life, although through Christ, being received 
by God into mercy, and the eternal punishment remitted, 
still, notwithstanding, continue to undergo a certain paternal 
chastisement, and purgation for their sins, especially if 
they have not sufficiently washed away their stains during 
life. To this some have applied the words of Christ with 
regard to ' paying the last farthing,' and that « all flesh shall 
be cleansed by fire ;' others, the passage of St. Paul con- 
cerning those * who have built upon this foundation wood, 
hay, and stubble,' and ' shall be saved, so as by fire ;' and 
others, again, the passage on Baptism for the dead."* The 
allegation of Newland and others, that prayers were indis- 
criminately offered for the saints, as well as for the faith- 
ful in general is untrue ; for a marked distinction is made 
in the Liturgies and in the writings of the Fathers, between 
those who are commemorated with honor, and whose 
prayers are sought, and others for whose repose and hap- 
piness we pray. " The discipline of the Church," St. 
Augustine observes, "is well known to the faithful, the 
martyrs being commemorated at the altar of God in such a 
way that prayer is not offered up for them, but is offered 
up for other departed souls : for it were an insult to pray 
for a martyr, to whose prayers we should be recommend- 
ed, "t Those who have confounded these things have 
availed themselves of some verbal similarity, where the 
context plainly marked the distinction. The Church has 
always honored the memory of her illustrious children, 
and presented her suffrages for the imperfect, being in- 
structed by the Apostles, as well as by the inspired author 
of the book of Macchabees, that " it is a holy and whole- 

* Systeraa Theologicum, p. 348. 

\ Serm. clix. n. 1. alias Serm. xvii, de verbis Apostoli. 



212 PURGATORY. 

some thought to pray for the dead, that they may be 
loosed from their sins."* 

The practice of prayer for the departed, and conse- 
quently the belief of a state wherein they may need prayer, 
and may benefit by it, is common to the Greekst and 
Latins : who agree in the doctrine of faith, although the 
sentiment of positive suffering by penal inflictions does 
not prevail among the former. Their harmony in the 
dogma is proved by the fact that no difficulty occurred on 
this point in the Council of Florence, where the union of 
both was effected. This is candidly admitted in the 
Tracts. Would to God that Protestants, instead of being 
horror stricken at the name of Purgatory, would dispas- 
sionately consider the limits of our doctrine on this subject, 
and embrace the practice of prayer for the dead, which 
even Newland, after Burnet, admits to be derived from 
venerable antiquity ! "It may be objected," he says, 
" that we have departed from the practice of the primitive 

* 2 Mach. xii. For the full vindication of the divine inspiration 
of the Books of Macchabees, see Theologia Dogmaiica, Vol. i. pp. 
375 — 400. Mr. Newman seems ready to admit the inspiration of all 
the books which Protestants usually term Apocryphal. After many 
citations from the Homilies, in which passages from Tobias, Wisdom, 
and Ecclesiasticus are quoted as of the Holy Ghost, he remarks : — 
" Thus we see the authority of the Fathers, of the six first Councils, 
and of the judgments of the Church generally, the holiness of the 
Primitive church, the inspiration of the Apocrypha, the sacra- 
mental character of Marriage, and other ordinances, the Real Presence 
in the Eucharists, the Church's power of excommunicating kings, the 
profitableness of fasting, the propitiatory virtue of good works, the Eu- 
charistic commemoration, and justification by a righteousness within 
us are taught in the Homilies. ,, (" By inherent righteousness" in 
first edition.) Tract No. 90, § ii. p. 76. 

f Analysis, Art. xxii. p. 349. 



PURGATORY. 213 

Church in praying for the dead. We do not deny it." 
— " The only Scriptural proof is taken from 2 Tim. i. 18, 
where St. Paul prays that Onesimus may find mercy of 
the Lord in that day, but it is not certain that Onesimus 
was dead when this passage was written."* In the opi- 
nion of the Tractarians he was dead, and the context sup- 
ports their sentiment. St. Paul prays that God may give 
mercy to his family on account of the many kind acts 
which he had performed towards the person of the Apostle, 
and then prays that he himself may find mercy. This 
separate mention of the family of Onesimus, and the eu- 
logy of his virtues, manifestly suppose his death, especially 
when followed by a prayer that he may find mercy when 
at the bar of judgment. If then the Apostle prayed for a 
departed servant of God, the practice is useful and salutary. 
Some Anglican Divines have observed that the Apostles 
and our Lord himself must have sanctioned this practice 
by their presence, since it was a part of the public worship 
of* the Jews in their day: and Jeremy Taylor admits that 
it surely must be harmless, since our Lord who was wont 
to rebuke the Pharisees for their vain observances, never 
reproached them with praying for the dead. Its connexion 
with the belief of Purgatory is obvious from the fact, that 
the chief reason alledged by Protestants for rejecting it, is 
that it led to that belief, and, if revived, would open the 
way to its introduction anew into their communion. 
» 

* Analysis, Art. xxii. p. 349. 



214 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

POSSIBILITY OF OBSERVING THE LAW. 

Notwithstanding the many venial sins into which even 
the just fall, and which, if not repented of in life, are 
punished by detention in Purgatory, as we have explained 
in the preceding chapter, the just are truly said to satisfy 
the divine law, as far as our present state admits,* by such 
actions as are performed under the influence of grace, and 
in union with God. " For although in this mortal life," 
says the Council of Trent, " persons, however holy and 
just, sometimes fall, at least, into slight and daily sins, 
which are also styled venial, they do not on that account 
cease to be just : for the petition, * forgive us our trespasses,' 
is the true and humble language of the just."t Lest how- 
ever this general frailty should be a plea for wilful trans- 
gression, especially of a grievous kind, as if the observ- 
ance of the commandments of God were impossible, the 
Council renewed the anathemas pronounced by ancient 
Councils against such as blaspheme God by asserting this 
impossibility. "No one," says the Council, " although 
justified, should think himself free from the observance of 
the commandments : no one should use the rash expres- 
sion which has been forbidden by the Fathers under pain 
of anathema, that the commandments of God are impos- 
sible to be observed by the justified man. For God does 

* Cone Trid. Sess. vi. cap. xvi. de justif. f Ibidem, cap. xi. 



OBSERVING THE LAW. 215 

not command impossibilities, but by ordering us admon- 
ishes us to do what is in our power, and to ask of Him 
what is beyond our strength, and He aids us in order to 
accomplish it."* Calvin assailed the doctrine of Trent,t 
and maintained that " none of us is able to keep the 
commandments. "J Jansenius subsequently asserted that 
" some of the Divine commandments are impossible to be 
observed even by a just man, although willing, and en- 
deavouring to observe them, and that grace, whereby they 
might become possible, is denied him."§ The condem- 
nation of this assertion by the Sovereign Pontiffs is said 
by Newland, after Burnet, to imply the entire perfection 
of human works, || which no Pontiff or Council has ever 
maintained. In the Larger Catechism of the Presbyterians 
the error of Calvin and Jansenius is plainly avowed : 
44 No man is able, either of himself, or of any grace re- 
ceived in this life, perfectly to keep the commandments of 
God ; but doth daily break them in thought, word and 
deed."^f The qualification of the observance by the term 
44 perfectly," might, at first, appear intended to indicate 
the venial imperfections which are found in human works ; 
but it is subsequently asserted that every sin, even the 
least, deserveth God's wrath and curse, both in this life, 
and that which is to come.** 

God could not consistently with his justice give to his 
creature a commandment which it is impossible to fulfil. 
This truth is so obvious to reason, independently of reve- 
lation, that it would never have been questioned, had not 

* Cone. Trid. Sess. vi. cap. xi. de justif. 

f In antidoto Cone. Trid. + Inst. 1. ih\ c. xviii. 9. 

§ In opere dicto : l Augustinus ;' L. iii. de gratia c. xiii. 

II Analysis, Art. xii. p. 182. Note. 

% Larger Catechism, qu. 149. ** Ibidem, qu. 152. 



216 OBSERVING THE LAW. 

men judged from the experience of their passions, rather 
than from unbiassed reflection. They found their passions 
uncontrollable : they imagined themselves to be just men 
and sincerely desirous of observing the divine law : and 
hence they concluded that sufficient grace to restrain en- 
tirely the rebellious appetites of corrupt nature is not given, 
even to the just. They sought for the cause in the cor- 
ruption of nature by original sin ; and thought they had 
sufficiently vindicated the divine attributes, by considering 
the supposed impossibility as its just punishment. The 
Council of Trent contemplating the riches of divine grace 
bestowed through Jesus Christ our Lord, recognizes in 
the justified man, acting under the influence of grace, 
strength and capacity to perform all that God commands. 
The contrary error makes void the mystery of Redemp- 
tion. If God, consistently with his attributes, cannot in 
any circumstances require what is in itself impossible; 
neither can He, consistently with his merciful decree to 
save mankind by the victim of Calvary, withhold from 
the justified man who humbly and earnestly implores it, 
the grace purchased at so great a price, whereby strength 
and power are given to fulfil the condition of entrance into 
life, by keeping the commandments. 

Of the ancient ceremonial law it is said that it was a 
yoke which could not be borne : wherefore Peter reproved 
the Jewish converts who unnecessarily sought to subject 
the Gentile converts to these observances : " Why tempt 
you God, to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, 
which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?"* 
But not even that law was impossible to be observed. 
The multitude of the rites exposed the Jews to frequent 

* Acts xv. 10. 






OBSERVING THE LAW. 217 

transgressions, which, however, by diligence could be 
avoided, with the aid of divine grace. The Apostle St. 
Paul adverting to the facility of transgression, and to the 
well known fact, that transgressions were multiplied, states 
as the end of the law what had been its result, (by a fami- 
liar Hebrew turn of speech,) and observes that the increase 
of sin had served for a greater display of grace. " Now 
the law entered in, that sin might abound. And where 
sin abounded, grace did more abound."* The fact of 
general guilt in violating the law is distinctly stated in the 
epistle to the Galatians : " for as many as are of the works 
of the law, are under a curse. For it is written: Cursed 
is every one, that abideth not in all things, which are 
written in the book of the law to do them."t Yet this 
must necessarily be limited to such as did not with a spirit 
of faith seek from God the grace necessary to comply with 
all the legal requisitions : for Zachary and Elizabeth 
" were both just before God, walking in all the command- 
ments and justifications of the Lord without blame. "^ 
David declares to God : " I have run the way of thy com- 
mandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart."§ 

The moral law, together with the ceremonial and judi- 
cial, constituted the whole Mosaic code. It surely could 
never have been absolutely impossible to be observed: 
otherwise the adulterer, the thief, the assassin, the per- 
jurer could plead in self justification the natural necessity 
of which they were victims. When St. Paul states the 
consequences of the law, the bad passions which seemed 
excited and inflamed by the prohibitions of indulgence, he 
evidently indicates no necessary result or natural necessity, 

* Rom. v. 20. f Gal. hi. 10. 

* Luke i. 6. § Ps. cxviii. 32. 

19 



218 OBSERVING THE LAW. 

but consequences, whereof an occasion arose from the 
clear language of the prohibition: "I did not know sin, 
but by the law: for I had not known concupiscence, if the 
law did not say: ' Thou shalt not covet.' But sin taking 
occasion by the commandment wrought in me all manner 
of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead."* 
The sinfulness of vicious desires might not be clearly 
understood, especially in the early period of the use of 
reason, had not the law forbidden to covet : and the de- 
sires might have been less frequent and less violent, had 
not the prohibition given occasion to the manifestation of 
corrupt propensity. Yet the law was not chargeable with 
these results, since in itself " the law indeed is holy, and 
the commandment holy, and just, and good ;"t and the 
direct tendency of the law is to restrain the passions : but 
a higher principle must come to its aid, " the grace of 
God by Jesus Christ our Lord ; 5, J a principle whose in- 
fluence was enjoyed by the just under the ancient dispen- 
sation, who looked forward with hope to the Messiah. 

Whoever asserts that the moral law is impossible, offers 
a plea for every vice ; and the believer, who imagines he 
has seized on the righteousness of Christ, when buffeted 
by passion, may yield, persuaded that " no man is able 
either of himself, or of any grace received in this life, 
perfectly to keep the commandments of God; but doth 
daily break them in thought, word, and deed,"§ The 
answer of God to Paul: " My grace is sufficient for thee, 
for power is made perfect in infirmity," || has no meaning 
for one who is persuaded, that it is impossible to keep the 



* Rom. vii. 7. f Ibidem 12. * Ibidem 25. 

§ Larger Catechism of Presbyterians, II. 149. 
II 2 Cor. xii. 9. 



OBSERVING THE LAW. 219 

divine commandment: "Thou shalt not covet." Thus 
such a man may flatter himself that impure excesses are 
among the unavoidable weaknesses to which even just 
men are subject, and that in this respect no man is able, 
by any grace received in this life, perfectly to keep the 
commandments of God ! In fact, the Synod of Dort did 
not blush to declare that the grace of adoption remains, 
amidst the greatest falls, like those of Peter and David. * 
We thank God that the ancient councils of the Church 
have defined principles of quite an opposite character ; 
and with the fathers of the second council of Orange, 
"According to Catholic faith we believe, that grace being 
received through Baptism, all baptized persons, with the 
aid and concurrence of Christ, are able and ought to fulfil 
the things that appertain to salvation, if they wish to labour 
faithfully."! 

Under the Christian dispensation the abundance of gifts 
and grace which we have received, gives us facility and joy 
in observing the commandments. Hence our Redeemer 
invites us to take his yoke and burden upon us, assuring 
us that it is sweet and light : " Come to me, all you that 
labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take 
my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek 
and humble of heart : and you shall find rest for your souls : 
for my yoke is sweet and my burden light.";); Would 
this be true were it impossible to observe his command- 
ments ? He makes this observance the condition of his 
friendship : " You are my friends, if you do the things 
that I command you."§ He warns us against ascribing to 
ourselves any praise, even when we are conscious of having 

* Can. vi. See also Presbyterian Confession of Faith, ch. xi. v. 
f Can. ult. t Mat. xi. 29. § John xv. 14. 



220 OBSERVING THE LAW. 

fulfilled all his commandments : " When you shall have 
done all these things that are commanded you, say : We 
are unprofitable servants ; we have done that which we 
ought to do."* Grabe, an Anglican writer, justly observes : 
" By these words our Saviour most clearly teaches us that 
we can do the things which are commanded, and which 
we are bound to do : otherwise he would suppose an im- 
possible condition, and would order us to utter a falsehood, 
saying : * We have done what we ought to do.' God for- 
bid that such a blasphemy should enter any one's mind."t 
Our Divine Master directed his Apostles to teach all 
nations to observe all things whatsoever they had heard 
from his lips,f the duties to be practised, as well as the 
truths to be believed. This is the gospel of salvation to 
be preached to every creatnre. How illusory such preach- 
ing must be, if not even the justified man, who by faith 
embraces the gospel, and earnestly seeks to practise the 
duties prescribed by it, can by any grace received in this 
life fulfil the commandments? Such was not the preach- 
ing of John, who, inculcating divine charity, required its 
manifestation and exercise in the observance of the divine 
commandments, which he declared are not difficult : " This 
is the charity of God, that we keep his commandments : 
and his commandments are not heavy."§ Such was not 
the preaching of Paul, who gave the faithful the assurance 
that God would not abandon them in the hour of trial, but 
would impart grace whereby they might issue forth un- 
hurt from temptation. " Let no temptation take hold on 
you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who 
will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are 

* Luke xvii. 10. f Ad cap. iii. § 3. Harmonise Apost. a Bullo. 

* Matt, xxviii, 20. § 1 John v. 3. 



OBSERVING THE LAW. 221 

able : but will make also with temptation issue that you 
may be able to bear it."* He proposed his own example, 
the assurance given him of the sufficiency of grace to 
repel the assaults of Satan,t and he did not hesitate to say: 
" I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me. "J 

It can scarcely be necessary to add the testimonies of 
ancient faith on this point, as all the exhortations of the 
Fathers and their reproaches to sinners suppose the possi- 
bility of observing the divine law in all its branches. If 
in a single point the impossibility of obedience be admitted, 
the voice of Religion is an empty sound, and sin is a 
phantom. Who can think that a holy and just Being can 
require of his creatures what they cannot of themselves 
fulfil, and can deny them the aid which they humbly im- 
plore in order to fulfil it ? The infidel might well decry 
the tyranny and injustice of such a Deity. The task 
master that scourges his slave for failing to do an amount 
of work beyond his strength would appear to advantage 
compared with the Supreme Being, decreeing eternal 
punishment against the weak mortal that fails to do what 
he is utterly unable to accomplish. Pharaoh refusing the 
straw to the Israelites, and still exacting the full task, was 
less cruel, than God would be, did He refuse even to his 
just servants the necessary aids of grace, and still require 
acts which without such aids are impossible. 

* 1 Cor. x. 12. f 2 Cor. xii. 9. * Phil. iv. 13. 



19' 



222 



CHAPTER XIX 



GOOD WORKS. 



We call those works which are conformable to the 
dictates of reason or natural law, morally good ; and whe 
performed under the impulse of grace, though not by jus 
men, we ascribe to them a certain supernatural virtue ; bu 
we call them emphatically good works when done undej 
the influence of grace, by just men, and in a manner t 
deserve an eternal reward. None perhaps will dispute th 
term in the first acceptation ; but the erroneous idea whici 
Luther had of the consequences of the fall of Adam madi 
him regard all the works of man as works of a corrup, 
being, and mortally sinful in themselves. The foetus itself iii 
the mother's womb is, he said, sin.* The same was the 
sentiment of Calvin, who conceived that original sin 
essentially vitiated the nature of man : " Let this be for us 
an unquestionable truth, which no machinations may sub- 
vert, the mind of man is so utterly estranged from the 
justice of God, that it has no desire, wish, or design which 
is not impious, depraved, foul, impure and flagitious : the 
heart of man is so thoroughly infected with poison that 

* " Lutum illud ex quo vasculum hoc fingi coepit, damnabile est, 
Foetus in utero, antequam nascimur et homines esse incipimus, pecca- 
tum est." Luther, in Ps. iv. 



GOOD WORKS. 223 

nothing can proceed from it but a sickening stench."* The 
Articles of the. Church of England partially adopt this 
view: " Works done before the grace of Christ and the 
inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God. . . . Yea 
rather for that they are not done as God hath willed and 
commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have 
the nature of sin. "t The Catholic faith does not present 
to us this frightful picture of total depravity. Human 
nature, though wounded by original sin, is not entirely 
corrupted ; the vestiges of its dignity and excellence are 
discoverable even in its decayed state. The essence and 
integrity of our nature remain, although we have been 
despoiled of our privileges and left in comparative helpless- 
ness and degradation. The works done in conformity 
with reason, and for no vicious end, have a moral charac- 
ter, although the individual who performs them may not 
himself be acceptable to God. The heathen may practise 
obedience to parents, fidelity to friends, generosity to the 
children of enemies, without meriting punishment from 
God for these acts, which, however, are not sanctified by 
the principle of Christian faith, or love. He may even 
afford a useful lesson of morals to such as with greater 
knowledge unite less obedience to the dictates of natural 
law. " For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do 
by nature those things that are of the law ; these not 
having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the 
work of the law written in their hearts. "J 

It is an error to suppose that no divine grace is given to 
any one who has not faith in Christ, for God, good and 
merciful as he is, in numberless ways enlightens, moves, 
and draws his creatures, and oftentimes by many previous 

* Inst. 1. ii. c. v. sub finem. f Art. xiii. + Rom. ii. 14. 



224 GOOD WORKS. 

gifts prepares them for the great gift of faith. The reason, 
then, assigned in the Articles of the Church of England is 
not valid, for they may proceed from the grace of Christ, 
and the inspiration of his Spirit, although " they spring 
not of faith in Jesus Christ."* When the Apostle says: 
" all that is not of faith is sin,"t he uses the term for the 
rule of conduct, that is for conscience, guided by revealed 
principles, and practically applying them. Whatever is 
done in opposition to its dictates is self-condemned, and 
therefore sinful : " Blessed is he that condemneth not him- 
self in that which he alloweth. But he that discerneth, if 
he eat, is condemned ; because not of faith. For all that 
is not of faith is sin." 

It concerns us more especially to consider works done 
before justification and directed to its attainment. We 
have already seen that various dispositions besides faith 
are necessary, and that they do not merit justification, 
although it is granted by Divine mercy, in accordance with 
the promises of pardon so often made to the repentant sin- 
ner. As we are unwilling to embarrass ourselves with, 
scholastic distinctions, we do not feel it necessary to give 
a name to this connexion between these dispositions and 
justification. 

Justification, being gratuitous, presupposes no good 
works, such as are strictly deserving of this title. Faith, 
fear, hope, and compunction, are dispositions of mind and 
virtues : and works which are performed under their in- 
fluence, before justification, are, in a certain sense, good, 
because not only conformable to the moral law, but pro- 
ceeding from a supernatural principle and directed to a su- 
pernatural end : yet divines are wont to give the title of 

* Art. xii. f Rom. xiv. 23. 



GOOD WORKS. 225 

"good works" exclusively to those performed in the state 
of grace. Through a desire of appeasing God, the penitent 
humbles his soul in fasting, prays earnestly and frequently, 
and seeks to redeem his iniquities by alms to the poor ; 
and acting in all these things under the influence of divine 
grace, his works are good ; but until he has obtained for- 
giveness, whether by the deep compunction of his heart, 
with the purpose of having recourse to the sacraments, or 
by the sacraments received with the necessary dispositions, 
he does not become entitled to a supernatural reward. 
New graces follow those wherewith he corresponds, and 
he becomes more immediately disposed for justification ; 
but his works are destitute of supernatural merit.* When, 
then, it is said that man is justified by faith without works, 
it is not only true of the observances of the ceremonial 
law, and of mere natural works, but also of good works of 
a supernatural kind, which cannot be the meritorious cause 
of justification. " The goodness and kindness of God our 
Saviour appeared; not by the works of justice which we 
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us."t The 
ancient penitents did not flatter themselves, that their fasts, 
and hair-shirts, and other austerities, merited the pardon of 
their sins; but they afflicted themselves, under a deep 
sense of guilt, and they justly hoped that their humiliation 
would be favourably accepted by God, who graciously re- 
gards the man who trembles at his words. 

Mr. Newman writes of persons " turning to the thought 
of religion :" " They are not gifted with habitual grace, 
but they still are visited by Divine influences, or by actual 
grace, or rather aid; and these influences are the first fruits 

* Tract 67, p. 176, f Titus iii. 4. 



226 GOOD WORKS. 

of the grace of justification going before it, are intended to 
lead on to it, and to be perfected in it, as twilight leads to 
day. And since it is a Scripture maxim, 'that he that is 
faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much,' 
and ' to whosoever hath, to him shall be given ;' therefore, 
it is quite true that works done with Divine aid, and in 
faith before justification do dispose men to receive the grace 
of justification; — such were Cornelius's alms, fasting, and 
prayers, which led to his baptism."* Having these acts 
particularly in view the Council of Trent anathematized 
" whosoever would assert that all works done before justi- 
fication, in whatsoever way they be done, are truly sins, 
and deserve the wrath of God."t The Sovereign Pontiffs 
have likewise condemned several propositions, which as- 
serted that all the works of sinners are sinful, and that no 
moral virtue was possessed by the philosophers of 
antiquity. 

Consistent with himself, Luther carried out his false 
principles to their extreme consequences, and maintained 
that the works of a justified man, as the actions of a cor- 
rupt being, are in themselves mortal sins4 Calvin re- 
echoed this sentiment, not hesitating to assert that no work 
can be performed by the saints, which does not deserve 
ignominy, § and which is not rather deserving of eternal 
damnation than of an everlasting reward. || Melancthon, 
Kemnitz, and the Reformers generally, participated in these 
views. The Catholic Church, on the contrary, considering 

* Tract No. 90, § 3. f Sess. VI. can. vii. 

t In assert, art. ii. xxxi. xxxii. et xxxvi. 

§ L. iii. Inst. c. xiv. § ix. 

II In antidoto Concilii Sess. vi. c. xi. 



GOOD WORKS. 227 

the just man to be engrafted in the vine, Christ Jesus, re- 
gards his works as fruits of justice, deriving their excel- 
lence from the Divine trunk, of which he is a branch. It 
is difficult to conceive how any one could seriously 
imagine, that an act done by a servant of God, for a super- 
natural motive, under a supernatural influence, could be 
sinful. Such an idea was certainly not derived from 
Scripture, which by inculcating the performance of good 
works, and promising a reward, evidently shows that they 
are not sinful ; since who will say that God commands or 
rewards sin ? " Let your light so shine before men, that 
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
who is in heaven."* Good works are compared by St. 
Paul to gold, silver, and precious stones, built on the foun- 
dation of faith ,t and he wishes the rich of this world " to 
become rich in good works,"J and he urges " that they, 
who believe in God, may be careful to excel in good 
works. "§ 

It was customary with the Reformers to apply to the 
works of the just the words of Isaiah : " We have all be- 
come as one unclean, and all our justices as the rag of a 
menstruous woman. "|| Yet it at once strikes the reader 
that the prophet is deploring prevailing corruption, which 
extended in many even to the rites and observances of re- 
ligion, rather than defining universally the quality of the 
works of just men. This Calvin and Luther felt them- 
selves forced to remark in their Commentaries on the pas- 
sage, although elsewhere they did not scruple to apply it 
to good works. The prophet had just given vent to the 

* Matt. v. 16. f 1 Cor. iii. * 1 Tim. vi. 18. 

§ Titus iii. 8. || Isaiah lxiv. 6. 



228 GOOD WORKS. 

expression of his admiration, at the wonders which divine 
goodness had prepared for those who should live under 
the new dispensation, and the rewards bestowed on him 
who doth justice : " From the beginning of the world," he 
says, " they have not heard, nor perceived with the ears : 
the eye hath not seen, O God, besides thee what things 
thou hast prepared for them that wait for thee. Thou hast 
met him that rejoiceth and doth justice : in thy ways they 
shall remember thee." He contrasts with this happy state 
of things present to his vision, the actual corruptions that 
prevailed in his time ; and he views the future rejection of 
all their ceremonial observances, which should give place 
to holier rites. Who is it that will venture to designate as 
filthy rags, the fervent prayers and holy aspirations of the 
servants of Jesus Christ, the charitable works of those who 
view him in the persons of the poor, the labours of Apos- 
tles and Apostolic men, and the sufferings of the martyrs 
for the unwavering profession of his faith ? We willingly 
admit that imperfections are for the most part found in the 
best works of the just ; wherefore St. Bernard has applied 
to them the words of the prophet : as he was wont to ex- 
press in Scriptural language his own sentiments, without 
pretending thereby to attach such meaning to the sacred 
text as its genuine interpretation. Such imperfections, 
however, do not destroy the substantial character of good- 
ness which the works derive from the grace of Jesus 
Christ, although they detract from their perfection. 
Newland, after Burnet, asserts that we hold that "men by 
their good works have so fully satisfied the law of God, 
that nothing is wanting to complete their perfection ;"* 

* Art. xii. p. 182. Analysis of Burnet. 



GOOD WORKS. 229 

but the Council of Trent, to which he refers as his authori- 
ty, in declaring that " nothing is wanting to justified men, 
why they should not be considered as having fully satisfied 
the Divine law by such works as are done in God," ex- 
pressly qualifies it by saying, "as far as our present con- 
dition admits" {pro liujus statu.)* 

We know that the justified man is not exempt from the 
assaults of his passions, but no condemnation awaits him 
for what he experiences against his will ; and since he re- 
sists the corrupt propensity, it is not he, but sinful passion 
abiding in him, which produces these involuntary move- 
ments. " Now then it is no more I that do it ; but sin that 
dwelleth in me."t God forbid that the words of the 
Apostle be perverted to indulge security in the wilful 
transgression of the divine law ! Man cannot, even in the 
privacy of his heart, cherish a corrupt desire, without in- 
curring the guilt of actual crime, in the sight of Him to 
whom the secrets of the heart lie open. He must faith- 
fully and perse veringly resist, for the sight of God is pro- 
mised only to the clean of heart. If he yields, he loses 
grace, and becomes liable to eternal torments, and his faith 
or his election, (concerning which he can know nothing,) 
affords him no security that he will not be forever 
banished from that kingdom, into which nothing defiled 
can enter. 

"Whilst we willingly give to those who assail good 
works as self-righteousness, all the advantage which can 
be derived from their disclaimers of any intention to cor- 
rupt morals, we feel that they in reality sap the founda- 
tions of Christian morality. With the authors of the 
Tracts, we are compelled to remark as the fatal and 

* Sess. VI. cap. xvi. de justif. f Rom. vii. 17. 

20 



230 GOOD WORKS. 

natural result of the maxims of Luther and Calvin, the dis- 
regard of all moral restraint by their disciples, and " the 
perpetration of crimes almost unequalled in the annals of 
the world" by the Puritans, who loudly proclaimed the 
same rules of action.* 

* Tract No. 80, on Reserve. 



231 



CHAPTER XX. 

NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. 

It is not easy to conceive how any one with the Gospel 
before him could have seriously denied the necessity and 
merit of good works, or spoken in any way that might 
lead men to undervalue or reject them. Yet, strange to 
say ! such was the language of the man who boasted him- 
self divinely sent to bring back the Church to her primi- 
tive purity and perfection. Under the pretence of setting 
aside all self-righteousness, that the glory of God might 
be manifest in the justification of the sinner, Luther warn- 
ed his followers to beware of good works as occasions of 
self-confidence, whereby the simplicity of faith is destroyed. 
" Let us," he writes, " beware of sins ; but still more of 
laws and good works : let us only attend to the promise of 
God and faith."* In his celebrated commentary on the 
epistle to the Galatians, he says : " When men teach in this 
way: ' faith indeed justifies, but it is necessary at the same 
time to keep the commandments of God, because it is 
written : ' if thou wilt enter unto life, keep the command- 
ments,' Christ in this manner is at once denied, and faith 
is abolished, since what belongs to God alone is ascribed 
to the commandments of God, or to the law.' "t Melanc- 
thon subscribed to this doctrine of his Master ; yet 
in the confession of AugsburgJ and in the Apology, as 
also in the Saxon Confession, he and the Lutherans with 
him receded from these gloomy maxims, and acknowledged 
the necessity and even the merit of works in terms almost 

* Serm. de Novo Test, sive de Missa. f In Cap. ii. ad Galatas. 
} Art. vi. Synt. Gen. p. 12. ib. p. 20. cap. 21. 



232 NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. 

equivalent to those of the Council of Trent. With the 
exception of the Antinomians, modern Protestants admit 
the necessity of good works as fruits and evidences of a 
living faith ; but deny them all merit and title to glory, 
which they ascribe wholly and exclusively to the righteous- 
ness of Christ imputed to believers. To prevent miscon- 
ception we again remark that good works, in the strict the- 
ological acceptation, are such only as are performed by a 
justified man under the influence of Divine grace, and in a 
manner pleasing to God. 

The paradoxes of Luther are now generally abandoned. 
His followers shrink with instinctive horror from the pro- 
positions which in his day he put forth with ostentation, 
and sustained with all the power of his vehement eloquence : 
" Where there is faith," he said, " no sin can be injuri- 
ous."* " No sins, but unbelief alone, can damn a Chris- 
tian."! " Faith alone is necessary : all other things are 
altogether free."± " It is enough forus, through the riches 
of the glory of God, to have known the Lamb, that takes 
away the sins of the world. Sin shall not tear us away 
from him, were we to commit fornication or murder a 
thousand times in a day. Do you think that the price and 
redemption offered for our sins in such and so great a lamb, 
is so trifling ?"§ I shall only repeat the remark of Mac- 
knight with regard to the Antinomians, whose principles 
resemble those of Luther ; " The impiety and folly of this 
assertion is too glaring to need any laboured confutation. 
Sin is sin, by whomsoever and at what time soever com- 
mitted ; and if not forsaken, will most certainly be 
punished. "|| This Commentator justly censures " all 

* In Serm. Sic Deus dilexit mundum. 
■j* L. de capt. Babyl. c, de Baptismo. t In c. ii. ad Gal. 

§ Epist. ad Joan. Aurifah. coll. t. 1. Jena 1556. 4. p. 345. b. 
|| Essay vi. on justification § 5. 



NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. 233 

those explications of the doctrine of justification, which 
have any tendency to weaken the obligation of good works. 
For although the abettors of these explications attempt to 
remove that inconveniency by a variety of subtle distinc- 
tions, these being not easily understood by the common 
people, make little or no impression on their minds ; while 
the consequences which flow from the doctrine they are 
intended to vindicate being obvious and agreeable to men's 
passions, have the greatest influence to make them hope 
for salvation, notwithstanding they continue in their sins. 
But all hopes of this sort being expressly condemned in 
the Gospel, every explication of the doctrine of justification 
which warrants such hopes, I repeat it, ought to be rejected, 
not only as unscriptural, but as dangerous in the highest 
degree."* " In speaking of justification, to separate good 
works from faith, and to make the latter consist wholly in 
the belief of doctrine, without connecting it with good 
works, is to err from the truth, as is plain from the many 
passages of Scripture in which good works are enjoined 
as necessary to salvation, and bad works are forbidden as 
bringing condemnation on those who continue in them." 
After many quotations from Scripture he adds: " After 
these declarations from Christ and his apostles, can any 
one doubt that the faith which saves is necessarily con- 
nected with good works ; and that it is made the condition 
or means of our justification for any other reason, but because 
it is the vital principle of true holiness, whereby men are 
rendered capable of eternal life ?"t Dr. Pusey laments that 
" in these days we seem almost to have lost sight of the 
truth, that we shall be judged according to our works. "J 

* Ibidem, sub firiem. f Ibidem § iv. 

\ Tract No. 67 on Baptism, p. 123. 

20* 



234 NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. 

The necessity of good works is strongly inculcated by 
the Apostle St, James : " What shall it profit my brethren, 
if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works ? Shall 
faith be able to save him ?"* The Apostle does not call in 
question the truth of such a man's assertion ; but he denies 
that faith, such as his, will be able to lead him to salvation. 
He may have faith so great as to enable him to move 
mountains ; yet without charity it will profit him nothing ;t 
since it is faith working by charity which avails in Christ 
Jesus. Though he should prophecy in the name of 
Christ, and cast out devils, and do many miracles, his ini- 
quities shall cause him and his partners in sin to be cast 
away : " Depart from me, you that work iniquity."}: This 
inefficient faith, which does not produce obedience to the 
law of God, is likened by St. James to that charity of the 
lips which is not attended by any effort to relieve the suf- 
ferers : "So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in 
itself."§ Demons may be said to have a faith like to this. 
They know and feel there is a God, under whose severe 
chastisements they tremble, in this respect superior to 
the negligent believer, who sets at nought the menaces of 
divine vengeance. " Thou belie vest that there is one God : 
Thou dost well:4he devils also believe and tremble. "|| 
Again he declares that the faith which does not produce 
works is no better than a lifeless carcase : " for as the 
body without the spirit is dead : so also faith without 
works is dead."^ Faith may exist without works, but it 
is not a living faith : it is dead for God and for salvation. 

No stronger evidence need be adduced of the clearness 
of the passages of St. James in regard to justifying faith, 
than the impression they made on the mind of the inventor 

* James ii. 14. f I Cor. xiii. % % Mat, vii, 23. 

§ James ii. 17. || Ibidem 19. J Ibidem, 2fi. 



NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. 235 

of the new system of justification. So irreconcileable did 
they appear to Luther with his views, that he indignantly 
rejected the epistle as unworthy of an Apostle, and called 
it an epistle of straw. The ingenuity of Calvin discovered 
a plausible interpretation, and the authority of the epistle 
has been admitted, whilst his tortuous explanation has been 
simultaneously received by the followers of the new creed. 
It is pretended that St. James speaks of a man who falsely 
claims to have faith, which his want of works proves him 
to be without : but it is sufficiently obvious to the unbiassed 
reader, that the Apostle admits the existence of faith, 
whilst he denies its saving influence, as long as it is sterile 
and inactive: otherwise it would have been vain to ask: 
" Shall faith be able to save him ?" Macknight observes : 
" the defenders of justification by faith alone ought to con- 
sider, that the doctrines of Religion, both natural and 
revealed, may be really believed without having any influ- 
ence on a man's temper and behaviour. . . . Wherefore the 
belief of the doctrines of the Gospel, however firm it may 
be, and however zealously contended for, even to the giving 
of one's body to be burned, will have no influence in any 
man's justification, if it doth not produce good works. 
1 Cor. xiii. 3. A faith of this kind is what James calls * a 
dead faith."* 

The reasoning of the Apostle, St. Paul, against the ne- 
cessity and efficacy of ceremonial observances and natural 
works, has been most strangely misapplied to undervalue 
works of Christian virtue done by just men under the im- 
pulse of divine grace. The boasting of works he ex- 
cluded, expressly declaring these works to be " works 
of the law."t The works which he said had no share in 

* Essay vi. on Justification, § 2. 

f Kom. iii. 28. Macknight acknowledges this, and observes: 



230 NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. 

justification, were such as were merely natural, " ac- 
cording to the flesh, ,,# and as would imply a natural right 
to recompense.! Yet the faith by which Abraham was 
justified, was manifested in obedience and hope, and it 
disposed him for heroic acts which rendered him a still 
greater object of divine favor. " Was not Abraham our 
father justified by works, offering up Isaac his son upon 
the altar ? Seest thou that faith did co-operate with his 
works ; and by his works faith was made perfect ? And 
the Scripture was fulfilled, saying: ' Abraham believed 
God, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was 
called the friend of God.' Do you see that by works a 
man is justified, and not by faith only ?"J Thus the 
Apostle St. James discourses on the justification of Abra- 
ham. 

To check the too great confidence of the Jews in their 
legal observances, St. Paul urged the necessity of the su- 
pernatural principle of faith: whilst to oppose the error 
of those who neglected the exercise of virtue, and pervert- 
ed the passages of St. Paul to sustain their exaggerated 
views of the efficacy of faith, St. James showed them, 
from the very example adduced by St. Paul, that the faith 
by which Abraham was justified, was fruitful in good 
works. St. Paul himself had not neglected to point out 
the fruits of faith. Being justified by faith, and advanced 
thereby to the dignity of sons of God, " we glory in 
tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; 

"The law which requires faith working by love, in order to justifica- 
tion, effectually excludeth all boasting ; because works, proceeding 
from faith, being imperfect, do not entitle him who performs them to 
justification." Essay VI. on Justification, § 1. Although the mean- 
ing of the author be not entirely correct, his words are capable of a 
Catholic interpretation. 

* Rom. iv/1. t Ibidem 4. * Jac. ii. 21 , 



NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. 237 

and patience trial ; and trial hope. And hope confoundeth 
not : because the charity of God is poured forth into our 
hearts, by the Holy Ghost who is given us."* He warned 
the faithful that " there is now no condemnation to them 
that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the 
flesh ;t" and he observed that Christ had come " in the 
likeness of sinful flesh, and of sin hath condemned sin in 
the flesh, that the justification of the law might be fulfilled 
in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according 
to the Spirit. "J To purity of life he subjoined patience 
as a condition for salvation : " if so we suffer with him 
(Christ) that we may be also glorified with him."§ 

From these testimonies, and from the whole tenor of 
the Scriptures, the necessity of good works is manifest; 
the only case in which their absence can be innoxious be- 
ing when the opportunity of exercising them is not 
afforded. The baptized infant taken out of life, enjoys 
the felicity of heaven as a mere boon : the justified sinner, 
who at the moment of his justification is launched into 
eternity, does not forfeit the privileges to which he had 
attained. "If anyone," writes St. Augustine, "imme- 
diately after he has embraced the faith, pass out of life, 
the justification of faith abides with him, not on account of 
previous good works, since he attained to it, not through 
merits but by grace, nor on account of works that follow- 
ed, since he is not allowed to remain in life."|| Thus the 
penitent thief passed to the joys of Paradise, with no 
other work to plead for him than the reproof of his com- 
panion, and the prayer offered up to his Saviour: and 
many in death experience like mercy : but the principle 
productive of good works must exist in all cases. 

* Rom. v. 3. f Ibidem viii. 1. % Ibidem 3. 

§ Ibidem 17. || L. lxxxiii. q. 76. 



238 



CHAPTER XXL 



WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 



In the language of scholastic theology, works of super- 
erogation are such as are not positively commanded, and 
therefore not absolutely necessary to salvation. It surprises 
one who knows the Catholic principles on this subject, to 
read the invectives of Protestant writers against this class 
of good works. The Presbyterian Confession is compara- 
tively moderate : " They who, in their obedience, attain 
to the greatest height which is possible in this life, are so 
far from being able to supererogate and to do more than 
God requires, that they fall short of much which in duty 
they are bound to do."* The Anglican Articles cannot 
receive the same praise : " Voluntary works besides," 
say they, " over and above God's commandments, which 
they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught with- 
out arrogancy and impiety : for, by them, men do declare 
that they do not only render unto God as much as they are 
bound to do ; but that they do more for his sake than of 
bounden duty is required: whereas, Christ saith plainly, 
when ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, 
we are unprofitable servants."! Both proceed on false 
suppositions, so that to explain our doctrine is the sure 
way of disproving their allegations. 

We freely acknowledge that God has a strict claim on 

* Ch. xvi. n. 4. f Art. xiv. 



WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 239 

all our affections and energies, and that he could most 
justly require of us unlimited obedience without giving us 
the least recompense. When we have done all things, we 
confess ourselves to be unprofitable servants. We know 
that we fall short of the perfection of the Christian law, 
and that " in many things we all offend." Therefore do 
the just, as well as the unjust, daily repeat: " forgive us 
our trespasses ;" and we are taught to confess and deplore 
our imperfections and many sins. But the indulgence of 
our heavenly Father is such that he has not required abso- 
lute perfection as a necessary condition for salvation. He 
has commanded us to avoid certain acts under penalty of 
his eternal displeasure ; and he has made the performance 
of others essential to the attainment of the joys of his 
kingdom. We are, however, exhorted to be perfect, even 
as He is perfect, and the exercise of certain heroic acts is 
commended, without being strictly enjoined. Thus our 
divine Redeemer stated as a condition for salvation, the 
observance of the commandments : "If thou wilt enter 
into life, keep the commandments ;"* and when the youth 
alleged his fidelity in their observance, and inquired what 
yet remained to be performed for the attainment of perfec- 
tion, our Lord answered : " If thou wilt be perfect, go, 
sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt 
have treasure in heaven ; and come, follow me."* Had 
the youth obeyed this counsel, he would undoubtedly have 
performed an acceptable act, which would have received a 
special reward in heaven. It was not made a condition 
for his entrance into life : it was not positively command- 
ed : but it was left to his choice, as a matter of greater 
perfection, to be specially rewarded in heaven. In parting 

* Matt, xix.21. 



240 WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 

with all his worldly possessions to follow Christ, who had 
not where to lay his head, the young man would have 
done nothing in proportion with the boundless love of him 
who, being rich, became poor for our sakes, that through 
his poverty we might be rich ;* but he would have done 
more than he was strictly commanded to do ; and the 
cheerfulness with which this act might have been per- 
formed, would have been specially acceptable to God. 
Newland, after Burnet, argues from his sadness that the 
sacrifice of his riches was absolutely enjoined on him, and 
not left to his option as a matter of greater perfection ; but 
the words of our Lord declare the contrary. " If thou 
wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast." His sadness pro- 
ceeded from the conflict between his attachment to his vast 
possessions, and his aspirations after perfection. It im- 
plied no consciousness of a positive command to part with 
his property. The words which our Redeemer subjoined 
declare the danger of such attachment, even where there 
is no actual sin : " Then Jesus said to his disciples, Amen, 
I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the 
kingdom of heaven." 

The attempt to establish a positive command, where our 
Redeemer gave only a counsel, is followed by an applica- 
tion of the principle to others : " Thus," says Mr. New- 
land, " in cases of a famine or persecution, it might de- 
volve on some as a necessary duty to sell all, in order to 
the relief of others."! But surely it is clear that sacri- 
fices of property can be made in less extreme cases, and 
yet are not enjoined. The early Christians sold all they 
possessed, and placed the proceeds in the hands of the 

* 2 Cor. viii. 9. f Analysis, p. 194. 






WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 241 

Apostles, renouncing their individual right of property, 
and making thereout a common fund, as St. Luke states. 
— This was a matter perfectly optional with each one : 
wherefore St. Peter, reproaching Ananias with his hypoc- 
risy in presenting a portion of the proceeds as the whole, 
reminded him that he was under no necessity of giving it 
at all : " Whilst it remained, did it not remain to thee ? 
and after it was sold was it not in thy power ?'** So the 
greater or less amount of alms which a wealthy individual 
may give, must be to a considerable extent a matter of free 
choice. The rich are commanded to succor their needy 
brethren : but no one imagines that they are obliged to 
reduce themselves to a state of indigence or suffering in 
order to relieve others. If, then, a wealthy man, not bur- 
thened with family or relatives, reserve to himself what is 
barely necessary for his decent maintenance, and give all 
his riches to the poor, who will deny that he has done 
more than was absolutely commanded ? He may, other- 
wise, greatly fall short of much which in duty he is bound 
to do, but in this respect he has done more than of bounden 
duty is required, and he will receive an abundant reward, 
proportioned to the cheerfulness with which he made the 
sacrifice. Thus St. Paul exhorted the Corinthians to the 
liberal exercise of charity, rather by the hope of abundant 
rewards, than by the fear of punishment for transgressing 
a command : " Now this I say : He whosoweth sparingly, 
shall also reap sparingly : and he who soweth in bles- 
sings, shall also reap of blessings. Every one as he hath 
determined in his heart, not with sadness, or of necessity : 
For God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make 
all grace abound in you : that ye always having all suffi- 
ciency in all things may abound to every good work."t 

* Acts iv. 32. f 2 Cor - **• 6 - 

21 



212 WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 

In the exercise of every virtue there are numberless 
cases in which there is no positive command, and conse- 
quently the action, being rather of counsel than of neces- 
sity, is properly styled an act of supererogation. " Now 
concerning virgins, " says St. Paul, " I have no command- 
ment of the Lord: but I give counsel, as having obtained 

mercy of the Lord, to be faithful He that giveth his 

virgin in marriage, doth well : and he that giveth her not, 
doth better."* Again Newland maintains that this better 
part is commanded to some : " He who finds that he 
can limit himself without endangering his purity, though 
no law restrains him from marrying, is certainly under 
obligations to follow that course of life in which there are 
fewer temptations, and greater opportunities to attend on 
the service of God."t This gloss is, however, without 
foundation in the text. The Apostle declares that he has 
no Divine commandment, and leaves to each one liberty to 
act according to choice, provided it be in the Lord. When, 
therefore, persons cherish celibacy in order to devote them- 
selves more unreservedly to the Divine glory and the sal- 
vation of their neighbor, they go beyond what is positively 
commanded. 

The disinterestedness of St. Paul, which caused him to 
forego his right to maintenance, lest he should put a hin- 
drance to the success of the Gospel among the Corinthi- 
ans, was an act of zeal and generosity, inspired by heroic 
charity, but commanded by no law. Newland says : " he 
was under an inward law of doing all things to the glory 
of God : and by this law he was as much bound as if there 
had been a stated compulsory law lying upon him. "J 
This, however, is a gratuitous supposition^ Had he 

* 1 Cor. vii. 38. f Analysis, p. 195. + Analysis, p. 196. 
§ Vide Symbolik von Mohler, I. 1. c. iii. § xxiii. 



WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 243 

exacted his support, he would not have sinned, for he 
strongly asserts his right to demand it: in not using this 
right, he acted under the high impulse of charity, and exer- 
cised generosity beyond what was commanded. 

The argument against works of supererogation taken 
from the imperfections and sins to which just men are 
subject, is thus proposed by the same writer : " St. James 
says : 4 In many things we offend all.' Now if the guilt 
of sin be eternal, and the pretended merit of obeying coun- 
sels is only temporary, no temporary merit can take off an 
eternal guilt. So that it must first be supposed that a man 
is, and has been perfect as to the precepts of obligation, 
before he can have an overplus of merit."* To this the 
reply is easy. The offences into which just men fall are 
of a slight character, not involving eternal guilt, for justice 
is destroyed by deadly sin : the merit of obeying counsels 
extends to eternity, for Jesus Christ promised a treasure in 
heaven to the rich young man, if for the love of perfection 
he would part with his wealth to relieve the poor, and to 
Virgins it is given to sing in the heavenly courts a canticle 
which none others can sing, and to follow the Lamb 
whithersoever he goeth. To gain this merit a man must 
be in the state of grace, and if he has transgressed any 
precept of the Law, he must have deplored it and obtained 
its pardon. His past sins cancelled by Divine mercy, and 
his present imperfections do not prevent his sacrifice from 
being graciously accepted and rewarded by his Father who 
is in heaven. He has no overplus of merit : for although 
he does more than is absolutely required to gain admit- 
tance into heaven, yet will every good work of his be 're- 
warded far beyond its deserts, and in a manner becoming 

* Ibidem. 



244 WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 

the bounty of his Judge. Spiritual advantages may- 
accrue to others as members of the same mystical body, 
enjoying the communion of the saints. The united and 
fervent prayers of those who have renounced all to follow 
Christ will obtain graces for their less perfect brethren : 
their humiliations and penal inflictions, oftentimes far 
severer than their offences may require, will serve to sup- 
ply the deficiency of those torpid souls who neglect works 
of penance : the heroism of their charity and of their 
patience will be accepted in Christ for his mystical body 
of which they are members. Thus St. Paul rejoiced in his 
sufferings, considering the advantages thence to flow to the 
faithful : " Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill 
up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, 
in ray flesh for his body, which is the Church."* 

Bishop Mcllvaine complains of the occasion* given by 
the doctrine of inherent righteousness to the multiplication 
of penitential works, and other works directed to secure 
personal holiness. "Thus will arise," he says, "the 
monster of supererogatory merit. "t That there is nothing 
monstrous in the Catholic idea of supererogation must be 
evident from the above explanation. If, however, no 
worse results arise from the principle, we can bear the 
reproach, since we have learned from the Scriptures, % to 
" bring forth fruit worthy of penance," to " chastise the 
body and bring it into captivity," to " be converted to the 
Lord with all our heart in mourning, fasting and weeping," 
to be " pursuers of good works," thereby to make sure 
our calling and election. The exercise of faith, virtue, 
knowledge, abstinence, patience, godliness, fraternal love, 
and charity is urged by the Prince of the Apostles as the 

* Col. i. 24. f Oxford Divinity, p. 89, 



WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. 245 

means to secure our eternal happiness. " If these things 
be with you and abound, they will make you to be neither 
empty nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. For so an entrance will be administered to you 
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ.' 1 * 

* 2 Peter,i. 8. 11. 



21 



246 



CHAPTER XXII. 



MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 



The merit of good works may be said to be the main 
subject of difference between Catholics and Protestants, 
since their necessity, at least as evidences of faith, is very 
generally conceded. Luther, Calvin, and most of their 
disciples altogether detested the very mention of merit, and 
thought that the ancient fathers by the incautious use of 
the term had inflicted a fatal wound on Christian faith. 
Yet it is manifest that the clamor on this subject proceeds 
from an erroneous conception of Catholic principles. We 
disclaim all merit arising from mere natural works ; and 
we ascribe no merit to any works whatever, unless in as 
much as they proceed from the grace of Jesus Christ, and 
are offered to God through Him, and are mercifully accept- 
ed, according to the plan freely established by God, and 
the promises freely made by Him. " Eternal life," says 
the Council of Trent, " is to be proposed to such as do 
good unto the end and hope in God, both as a grace merci- 
fully promised to the children of God through Jesus Christ, 
and as a reward to be faithfully rendered to their good 
works and merits, in virtue of the promise of God. For 
since Christ Jesus himself constantly communicates his 
virtues to those who are justified, as the head to the mem- 
bers, and as the vine to the branches ; which virtue 
always precedes, and accompanies, and follows their good 



MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 247 

works, and without which they couhl be no wise agreeable 
to God and meritorious : we must believe that nothing more 
is wanting to the justified, why they should not be con- 
sidered as having fully satisfied the divine law, as far as 
the condition of this life admits, by such works as are done 
in God, and truly merited the attainment of eternal life in 
due time, (provided however they depart in grace)."* The 
Presbyterian Confession of Faith says: "We cannot, by 
our best works, merit pardon of sin, or eternal life at the 
hand of God. Yet notwithstanding, the persons of 
believers being accepted through Christ, their good works 
also are accepted in him — he, looking upon them in his 
Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, 
although accompanied with many weaknesses and imper- 
fections."t The Anglican Articles say that though they 
" cannot endure the severity of God's judgment, yet are 
they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ. "J Mr. 
Newman explains this as meaning that " God rewards 
them and that of course according to their degree of excel- 
lence.'^ The chief reason which Newland after Burnet 
assigns why works cannot be meritorious, is the imperfec- 
tion which is found in them, " for where there is guilt to 
be pardoned, there is no pretension to merit ;"|| but this 
supposes that there is guilt in every action, which is a false 
hypothesis. Besides he solves the objection in a different 
form, when he shows that works may be acceptable to 
God, and truly good, although not altogether perfect.^ 

In the Confession of Augsburg, and elsewhere, Melanc- 
thon admits that the just merit certain rewards because 

* Sess. vi. cap. xvi. de justif. f Ch. xvi. § 5, 6. 

* Art. xii. § Tract No. 90, § 3. 
1 Analysis, p. 184. % Ibidem, p. 185. 



248 MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 

promised by God, but maintains that eternal life is a gratui- 
tous gift which cannot be merited. Yet if the Divine pro- 
mise be the ground of merit, eternal life, no less than any 
special rewards, must be admitted to be an object of merit, 
since it is expressly promised as the reward of sacrifices 
made for Christ: " Amen 1 say to you, there is no man 
that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or 
children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not re- 
ceive much more in the present time, and in the world to 
come life everlasting."* He said : " Blessed are the poor 
in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.t Blessed 
are they that suffer persecution for justice sake ; for theirs 
is the kingdom of heaven. "J Heaven then becomes theirs : 
its happiness is the reward of their humility and patience ; 
wherefore he says to them of the day of persecution : " Be 
glad in that day and rejoice : for behold your reward is 
great in heaven."§ 

As it is conceded, even by the Presbyterian Confession, 
that God rewards good works, the dispute about merit, 
may seem to be a debate about words. In truth, if the 
qualifications which the Council of Trent attaches to the 
word be borne in mind, there can be little difficulty as to 
its use, to signify the title which man has through Jesus 
Christ to eternal life, by the fulfilment, under Divine 
influence, of the conditions required for its attainment. 
Christ has told us : " As the branch cannot bear fruit of 
itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless 
you abide in me. I am the vine ; you the branches : he 
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much 
fruit ; for without me you can do nothing."|| The fruit- 

* Luke xviii. 29. f Mat. v. 3. $ Ibidem 10. 

§ Luke vi. 23. || John xv. 4. 



MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 219 

fulness of the saints is derived from the heavenly vine, 
whose branches they are. Separated from this stock, they 
would wither and decay. Is it derogatory to the merits of 
Christ to ascribe to the saints merits derived from him ? 
Does it militate against the glory of God, to recognize in 
his servants virtues, which are the fruits of his grace, and 
for which his bounty reserves a recompense ? Those who 
have clamored against Catholic doctrine on this head, have 
strangely misrepresented its character. Good works, as 
well as faith, are radically the gifts of God, and fruits of 
his grace. " By grace/' says the Apostle, " you are saved 
through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift 
of God, not of works, that no man may glory. For we 
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good 
works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in 
them."* Our glory is in the cross of Christ; but we 
feel bound to become like to the image of the Only be- 
gotten, and to exercise the virtues whereof he has left the 
example. 

Christ represents himself as a judge, bestowing happi- 
ness and decreeing punishment, according to the deserts 
of those who appear at his tribunal. He invites his elect 
to glory on account of acts of charity exercised towards 
himself in the persons of the poor: " Come, ye blessed 
of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from 
the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you 
gave me to eat : I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink : 
I was a stranger, and you took me in : naked, and you 
covered me : sick, and you visited me : I was in prison, 
and you came to me."t 

The Catholic doctrine on good works is fully sustained 

* Eph ii. 8. t Mat. xxv. 34. 



250 MERIT OF GOOD WORK?. 

by these passages. The just expect and hope for an eter- 
nal reward from God through his mercy, and through the 
merits of Jesus Christ, for good works done in God, (that 
is, under the influence of divine grace, and in accordance 
with the divine will,) provided, however, they persevere 
to the end in doing good, and observing the divine com- 
mandments.* This hope was cherished by the Apostle ; 
and is grounded on the express words of Christ. When 
we style such works meritorious, we speak not of their 
intrinsic value, but of the merit they have, according to 
the bountiful dispensation of God, from the grace and 
merit of Christ. It is useless and unfair to cavil about a 
term, the meaning whereof is so well defined. Eternal 
life is the gift of God, because of his pure goodness and 
mercy he has rendered man capable of attaining it, and 
through the grace purchased for us by the death of Christ 
he enables us to fulfil the conditions for its attainment : 
wherefore the Apostle says, " the grace of God life ever- 
lasting in Christ Jesus. "t But God having graciously 
promised this boon as a reward to those who obey and 
love him, the fulfilment of the conditions gives a title to 
the recompense, and constitutes what is justly termed 
merit. " Life eternal," says St. Augustin, " which in the 
end will be enjoyed without end, and is therefore granted 
to previous merits, nevertheless because these merits to 
which it is granted were not acquired by us by our own 
ability, but were produced in us by grace, even itself is 
called grace for no other reason than because it is gratui- 
tously given : not because it is not given to merits, but be- 
cause the merits themselves to which it is rendered were 
given.":): " O man, if thou art to receive eternal life, it is 

* Cone. Trid. Sess. vi. Can. xxvi. f Rom. vi. 23. 
i Ep. cv. ad Sixtum. 



3IERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 251 

indeed the reward of justice: but to thee it is a grace, 
since justice itself is a grace. "* 

In the epistle to the Romans, where the Apostle insists 
so strenuously on the mystery of the atonement, and ex- 
cludes so clearly all boasting of works, and all natural or 
legal righteousness, he nevertheless represents the glory of 
heaven as the reward of perseverance in good works. 
Speaking of the revelation of the just judgment of God at 
the last day, he subjoins, " who will render to every man 
according to his works. To them, indeed, who, accord- 
ing to patience in good work, seek glory, and honor, and 
incorruption, eternal life . . . glory, and honor, and peace, 
to every one that worketh good."t He elsewhere speaks 
of eternal life as the fruit of good works, and urges the 
faithful to diligence in their performance, as their reward 
is great and certain : " He that soweth in the Spirit, of the 
Spirit shall reap life everlasting. And in doing good, let 
us not fail : for in due time we shall reap, not failing."! 
He exhorts the rich u to do good, to be rich in good works, 
to give easily, to communicate to others, to lay up in store 
for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, 
that they may lay hold on the true life."§ The obvious 
meaning of all these passages is, that true and eternal life 
is proposed as a reward for our fidelity, and that our hap- 
piness will be proportioned to our zeal in the performance 
of good works. He elsewhere ascribes to patience under 
suffering the great glory which awaits the persecuted ser- 
vants of God : " For that which is at present momentary 
and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure 
exceedingly an eternal weight of glory. "|| He rests his 

* Ep. cv. ad Sixtum. f Rom. ii. 6, 10. * Gal. vi. 8. 
§ 1 Tim. vi. 18. || 2 Cor. iv. 17. 



252 MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 

own hopes of happiness on his fidelity in corresponding 
with the grace of God, and from his prison, when daily- 
expecting to be led forth to martyrdom, he writes : "lam 
even now ready to be sacrificed ; and the time of my dis- 
solution is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, 
there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord 
the just judge will render to me in that day : and not only 
to me, but to them also that love his coming."* In be- 
stowing glory, God, then, acts as a just judge, and crowns 
justice. His grace and mercy bestowed the gifts which 
prepare his servants for glory ; but they are entitled to the 
reward which he vouchsafed to promise them. The jus- 
tice of their claim detracts nothing from his sovereign 
munificence, since it was the free act of his bounty to ren- 
der them capable of his enjoyment, by bestowing the 
graces with which they have corresponded ; and he gra- 
tuitously promised the reward which his sovereign truth 
now obliges him to bestow. There is no room for human 
pride or glory, in works done under the influence of divine 
grace : " God forbid that a Christian should either trust or 
glory in himself, and not in the Lord, whose goodness 
towards all men is so great, that he wills that what are his 
gifts should be their merits. "t 

St. John extols the happiness of the martyrs and saints 
of Christ, and ascribes their glory to their labors and suf- 
ferings. " Here," he says, " is the patience of the saints, 
who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of 
Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me : 
Write : Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From 
henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 

* 2 Tiopu iv 6. f Counc. Trent. Sess. vi. cap. xvi. de justif. 



MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 253 

their labors : for their works follow them."* Their works, 
then, follow them, and are rewarded with peace, and joy, 
and glory. They no doubt owe their salvation to the 
Lamb, in whose blood they have washed their robes white : 
they proclaim his praises, because he redeemed them from 
every tribe, and tongue, and people : they glory not in 
their works, for all their value arises from the grace and 
merits of the Redeemer : but their w r orks are the condition 
established by Christ for the attainment of life eternal, and 
are the immediate title to the possession of the inheritance 
which He purchased for them by his blood. 

That there is a great difference in the zeal with which 
the servants of God devote themselves to works of piety 
and charity, is a matter obvious to every observer ; and it 
is worthy of the divine bounty to reward with greater 
liberality his more devoted servant. We are assured, in 
many places of Scripture, that God will give to each one 
according to his works. Eternal life is the recompense of 
all ; and those who come latest into the vineyard, and 
those who obey the earliest call, are alike partakers of this 
reward: but as star differs from star in brightness, the 
saints in glory variously reflect the divine splendor which 
invests them. The hope of a greater communication of 
bliss is a powerful incentive to virtuous actions. A cup 
of cold water given for the sake of Christ does not lose 
its reward : but how bright are the crowns of the apostles 
and of apostolic men, who left all things, and devoted all 
their energies to spread the knowledge of Jesus Christ ! 
How glorious are the martyrs who washed their robes 
white in the blood of the Lamb ! How privileged are the 
Virgins, who, in the heavenly temple, sing a canticle 

* Apoc. xiv. 12. 
22 



254 MERIT OF GOOD WORKS. 

which it is granted to no others to sing, and follow the 
Lamb whithersoever he goeth ! 

This diversity of recompense, marking the different de- 
grees of fervor with which the saints served God, detracts 
nothing from the Divine glory, and gives nothing to hu- 
man merit, but shows forth Divine wisdom and bounty in 
a most admirable way. The infant, who, born anew of 
water and the Holy Ghost, found entrance into the king- 
dom of God, receives from gratuitous bounty an unspeak- 
able degree of glory : but Polycarp or Hilarion, who 
passed a long life in the service of their divine Master, 
receive a higher crown, with which penitential inflictions 
or sufferings for the faith are not worthy to be compared. 
God crowns his own gifts, when he rewards the merits 
acquired under the influence of his grace: and as his mu- 
nificence is displayed in rendering man capable of his 
beatific vision, so does his wisdom shine forth in propor- 
tioning the communication of his glory, to the degree of 
zeal with which the gifts of his grace were employed. 
" If the gifts of God," says St. Augustin, " are thy good 
merits, God does not crown thy merits, as thine, but as 
his own gifts."* 

* L. de gratia et liber o arbitrio cap. vii. 



255 



CONCLUSION. 

From this brief exposition and defence of the Catholic 
doctrine on justification, it is manifest that it is in strict 
harmony with Scripture and with the Divine attributes. 
The glory of the sanctification and salvation of man is 
given to God, whose grace rouses us from the lethargy of 
sin, and conducts us happily to the heavenly kingdom. 
The mystery of the cross is exhibited in all its awful 
grandeur ; and grace and salvation are acknowledged to be 
derived from it. The freedom of the human will is main- 
tained, and thereby the guilt of the obstinate sinner is 
shown, and the obedience of the servant of God appears 
a homage whereby the Deity is glorified. "It is right," 
as Bossuet has well observed, " to give all to Jesus Christ. 
The Church gave him all in the justification of the sinner 
as well and better than Luther, but in a different way. 
We have seen that Luther gave him all, by stripping man 
of every thing ; and the Church, on the contrary, gives 
him all, by considering as an effect of his grace whatever 
good man has, and even the good use of his free will in 
all that regards a Christian life."* The merit of man in 
these circumstances nowise derogates from the glory of 
God, or the mystery of the atonement, and the elect will 
for ever sing the praises of the Lamb as the cause of their 
salvation : " Because Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed 
us to God in thy blood, t 

* Histoire des Variations, 1. v. § ii. f Apoc. v. 9. 



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